Problems including fly-tipping, statutory nuisances, rogue trading and consumer offences are being targeted in a new way by North East Lincolnshire Council.
A new Community Protection and Compliance Team has been formed through the coming together of the Council’s Community Pride and Trading Standards teams.
Three new area based teams are now covering the north, central and south areas of North East Lincolnshire.
One of their first tasks is a spring cleaning blitz across several parts of the borough where they are tackling problems including littering and fly-tipping as well as offering advice about bins, waste and recycling and keeping private alleyways clear.
Yesterday (Tuesday) the team enlisted the help of probationers from the Community Rehabilitation Company to clear litter and other rubbish from the Pasture Street area of Grimsby. Throughout the day the team discovered a lot of plastic bottles and cans, food wrappers, and some household appliances including an old washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, and some storage boxes.
Cllr David Bolton, portfolio holder for Safer Communities and Public Protection at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:
“Bringing the two teams together and changing the way we work means we can take a more intelligence-led approach to the problems that blight our communities.
“The move will improve the way we deal with these problems and is part of the Smarter Neighbourhoods Operations Project, that was agreed in November 2016.”
One of their main priorities is to carry out education and enforcement activity around fly-tipping and people leaving excess waste with their bins.
The team will be speaking to people about how to deal with their waste, giving the following reminders:
- You should put your bins and recycling boxes out at the boundary of your property before 7am on the morning of collection.
- Any waste you put out for collection should fit within the bins or boxes – the team won’t pick up bags or excess waste (side waste) that is put alongside bins and boxes.
- Once they’ve been emptied, they should be taken back into your garden or yard on the same day. Aside from making the neighbourhood look untidy, bins and boxes left out on the street for long periods cause problems for people trying to walk down the pavements.
- Don’t leave excess household waste at street litter bins.
- You can dispose of excess waste at our Community Recycling Centres in Grimsby and Immingham.
They will also be tackling a wide range of consumer protection matters as well as environmental problems including statutory nuisance, stray dogs and animal welfare, abandoned vehicles and filthy and verminous premises.
A third party will be hired to tackle littering and dog fouling to free the Community Protection and Compliance team to focus on more serious problems.
The easiest way to contact the team is via the website at www.nelincs.gov.uk/report-it/ and select ‘Street cleaning and nuisance behaviour’ Alternatively, call (01472) 326300 and select option 3.
Or for Trading Standards visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/trading-standards/ or call 01472 326299.
As a result of the changes, there will be more staff available during weekdays but there are no stray dog collections at weekends and Trading Standards advice for civil disputes will be dealt with solely by the national Citizens Advice consumer service who can be contacted for assistance on 0345 4 04 05 06
Reporting noise complaints into the new team will also change and can be done online via www.nelincs.gov.uk or by calling the call centre on 01472 326300
The Smarter Neighbourhoods Operations Project adopts a place based approach, targeting areas of demand, the Smarter Neighbourhood Services Programme will deliver under three key themes of work:
- Changing behaviour through smarter communications and key messages to prevent unacceptable behaviour
- Smarter intelligence led activity, targeting areas of concern
- Robust enforcement to further support changes in behaviour.