Fly-tipping fines in Wokingham could increase to up to £1,000 as the council looks to double down on those disposing of illegal waste.
Wokingham Borough Council is proposing to raise various licence fees and charges next year, with the largest increase set for illegal fly-tippers.
Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of litter on land or in water to usually avoid disposal costs and is currently punished by a fixed penalty notice of £400. But this could rise by up to £600 under new council plans for a ‘sliding scale’ system.
Council officers would choose how much to fine fly-tippers ‘depending on severity of offence’, at either £500, £750 or £1,000.
A council report ahead of the Licensing and Appeals Committee on Wednesday, November 13 said the change would ‘reinforce environmental crime deterrence through structured, severity-based penalties’.
It comes as Wokingham was ranked as the worst fly-tipping hotspots in Berkshire between 2022 to 2023. A total of 1,691 reported incidents took place from 2022 to 2023, and 1,808 were reported the year before.
If approved by Wokingham Borough councillors, the fine would be one of the largest issued across Berkshire.
Charges are set at £400 in Reading, Bracknell and West Berkshire, but go up to £1,000 in Slough.
Slough Borough Council increased its fly-tipping fines in April this year to act as a deterrent. A fine of £1,000 will be halved to £500 if repaid within ten days.
Other licensable fees including taxi drivers, and those looking to set up a street trading business, could rise by 5%. This is in line with the amount of money it costs to administer the service.
The report said the council “ .. has faced considerable challenging cost increases in recent years”, with licensing fees already increasing by around 10% in 2023 to 2024, and by a further 6% in 2024 to 2025.
Fees could increase from £339 to £356 for those looking to get or renew their Hackney Carriage vehicle licence.
Annual fees paid by street traders could go up from £1,609 to £1,690. This would remain lower than fees in Windsor and Maidenhead, which charges £3,000, and Reading which charges £2,421 per year.
If given the go-ahead, the new fees and charges will be implemented from April 2025.
