Councillor's frustration at fly-tipping bill

A DISGRUNTLED councillor says residents have been left “footing” the fly-tipping bill in rural areas.

- By STUART ARNOLD Local democracy reporter

Councillor Jemma Joy, who represents Hutton ward in Guisborough, also took aim at responses to rural crime generally, labelling the problem a “Cinderella crime” and describing how she was seeking a meeting with police.

Cllr Joy, who is the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Redcar and Cleveland Council and chairs the council's climate and environment scrutiny committee, highlighted a “huge load” of household waste that she said was recently dumped on farmland off the A171 near Guisborough.

She claims despite potential evidence showing the identity of the likely culprit in the form of an invoice showing a person’s name and address, the local authority had failed to issue a fixed penalty notice since the fly-tip was on private land.

Cllr Joy said it was also unable to support a potential criminal investigation “down to money.” She said: “That means the victim is left footing the bill while the offender walks away. This is the same story we hear time and again in rural areas - whether it’s farm thefts, off-road bikes, or antisocial behaviour in our villages. Residents feel criminals are getting away with it because the resources just aren't there.”