Thousands of littering fines handed out across Arun as 'zero tolerance policy' continues

A total of 950 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued between May 2021 and September 2022: 917 for littering and 33 for dog control and fouling.

July 2022 saw the highest number of fines issued than any other month (109) and fines tend to peak during the summer.

If each fine was paid within 14 days, this would have brought in a minimum of £62,080.

This money does not go to Arun District Council but is instead kept by East Hants District Council which provides enforcement on its behalf.

Between May 2017 (when the partnership began) and May 2021, 5094 FPNs were issued for littering.

On Thursday (17 November) ADC’s Environment Committee voted to continue the partnership for a further three years.

A report before the committee acknowledged that even small pieces of litter have a ‘significant and detrimental impact on the environment’ and councillors were keen to continue the ‘zero-tolerance’ approach.

Paul English (Con, Felpham East) said: “Cigarette butts are an environmental tragedy. Being a green councillor and a conservative, I hate the damn things. I have no worries about an officer standing there photographing an idiot and [issuing] a fine.”

Gill Madeley (Con, Felpham West) and Paul Bicknell (Con, Angmering and Findon) called for closer collaboration with schools as they had heard about pupils dropping litter.

Matt Stanley (LDem, Marine) also supported ‘zero tolerance’ but was ‘unsure’ about enforcement officers ‘hanging around the town centre watching people dropping cigarette butts to generate profit’.

He wants to see more enforcement outside town centres and asked why the council can’t bring enforcement in-house.

Environmental services and strategy manager Oliver Handson said the enforcement scheme was ‘not a cash cow’, adding that East Hants is a ‘market leader’ for enforcement.

Committee chair David Edwards (Con, Felpham East) was fully behind the scheme despite initial complaints from residents.

“Don’t throw litter on the floor and you won’t get a fine, it really is as simple as that,” he said.