Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Environment and Enforcement Manager on the Annual Environmental Enforcement report.

The Cabinet had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Environment and Enforcement Manager and the Head of People, Performance and Waste providing an overview and review of the Environment and Enforcement service for the 2023/24 financial year and the improvements that have been made during this period.

The Cabinet Member for Service Delivery and Continuous Improvement outlined the contents of the report and highlighted the following areas:

·       This end of year report highlighted key statistics relating to the Environment and Enforcement service. Issues relating to Fly Tipping, Littering, Abandoned Vehicles and the Public Space Protection Order were key areas that affected all residents of Mid Devon.

·       The report highlighted the work the service had undertaken over the financial year 2023/24 to tackle these issues and provide confidence to communities that appropriate action would and had been taken against those committing such offences. Most pertinent was the decline in reported Fly Tipping activity in the district, which reflected on the work the service had performed along with working with other services to highlight the positive impact of the Bin-It 123 scheme.

Consideration was given to:

·       The importance of information being provided by members of the public and councillors to enable enforcement action to take place.

·       Sharing knowledge and good practice with Planning Enforcement colleagues and other service areas would prove beneficial. Pooling knowledge and resources was encouraged.

·       It was noted that April and November 2023 had been key months for increased fly tipping. If this occurred again in 2024 an investigation could be undertake to ascertain why this was.

·       There had been a significant shift in users opting to pay for their parking via the Ringo cashless option, suggesting trends for easier cashless payment options were increasing.

Note: * Report previously circulated.