The new Progressive Alliance leadership of Milton Keynes Council will be bringing forward a comprehensive action plan to reduce fly-tipping across the city as part of their new Council Plan.

Fly-tipping has increased 300% nationally since 2015 and in Milton Keynes it has increased by around 16% in recent years. The council has increased the use of CCTV and has increased the number of prosecutions, however the new administration is now promising an even more comprehensive plan to tackle the issue.

A new environmental crime enforcement officer will be employed to bring more fly-tippers to justice and deal with abandoned vehicles, while more CCTV is also planned. However, the Progressive Alliance is also planning to conduct in-depth research into the causes of fly-tipping and how best to target resources into dealing with the issue.

The new Council Plan, due to be published tomorrow and voted on by councillors next week, is the programme for the council over the next 12 months. It will also include a commitment to review the tip booking system after sites have been operating without social distancing for three months, although a leading councillor says that early issues with slot availability are already now mainly resolved.

Cabinet Member Lauren Townsend has also attacked the MK Conservatives for continually siding with criminals and fly-tippers and for giving people an excuse to fly-tip.

Cllr Lauren Townsend, Labour Progressive Alliance Cabinet Member for Public Realm said: “Fly-tipping has increased nationally by 300% and in Milton Keynes recently by 16%. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats that make up the Progressive Alliance campaigned to take more action on this issue and we will.”

She continued: “We will bring forward a plan to tackle this issue based on evidence and what works. In the meantime, we are increasing resources and brining in an extra environmental enforcement officer to deal with fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles, and we will be increasing CCTV to catch more of these criminals. The review will look at the tip-booking system after it has been operational for three months with no social distancing, because while we believe that the issues with booking slots have now mainly been resolved and when distancing ends even more slots will be available, we will make our decisions based on facts.”

She concluded: “We will not pander to criminals who fly-tip or give them any excuses unlike the local MK Conservatives who signal to law breakers that if they fly-tip then the blame lies with the council. The Progressive Alliance will tackle fly-tipping and ensure we have proper plans in place to deal with the criminals that blight our communities rather than giving them the green light.”