Croydon Council has reviewed its enforcement policy to address the increase in environmental crimes on the borough’s streets and open places, and to restore pride by making Croydon a cleaner, safer, and healthier place.

The new policy outlines the Council’s proposed stepped approach to enforcement which includes increasing awareness and education for crimes such as fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles. It will also include the work of the Council’s award-winning trading standards team. These offences can make areas look and feel less safe.

The streets and environment enforcement policy sets out a clear, fair, and proportionate approach to enforcement, ensuring that those who fail to comply face appropriate consequences. The Council will assess each case to determine what enforcement action is needed and make sure it is proportionate.

Croydon, in line with the national trend, has seen a significant increase in fly-tipping and in 2024 the waste team cleared over 56,000 fly-tips, at an estimated cost of more than £1 million to the Council.

A new full cost-recovery model including the implementation of a new community compliance team will be established. The team will consist of four compliance officers to ensure the Council recoups the costs of cleaning and the disposal of waste without placing an additional financial burden on residents. This ensures that resources are directed where they are needed most, tackling hotspots effectively.

Through the waste and street cleansing contract with Veolia, 95% of all reported fly-tips are cleared within 24 hours. With the majority of these fly-tips forming mainly of domestic waste, the new policy and approach aims to educate to prevent the crime from happening in the first place.

If appropriate, advice and warnings will be the first step, followed by fines and then court action depending on the offence committed if needed, each case will be judged on its merit.

Formal action including fines and cautions will be used immediately where there is reason and evidence to do so.

Where fly-tipping takes place on private land, the Council will contact the landowner and remind them of their responsibilities and to remove the waste.  Failure to comply can lead to enforcement action along with charging the full cost for the removal of the waste.

The Council will be asking anyone with an interest in the new policy for their views on it in a survey during the summer.

“My administration has been working on this issue from day one. Increased effort has been put into cleaning the borough, with improvements to the Love Clean Streets app and 95% of fly tips being removed within 24 hours.

“A key part of this new streets and environment enforcement policy is the recruitment of additional street-based compliance officers, who will focus on targeted, intelligence-led enforcement.

“These officers will issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) where necessary and escalate cases for prosecution. Their presence on the streets will act as a deterrent to environmental crime, helping to change behaviour and hold those who blight our borough accountable.”

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon