A successful Enforcement Action Week showed that Calderdale Council means business when it comes to tackling anti-social behaviour.
The Council and its partner organisations stepped up their patrols, checks and enforcement from Monday 23 September, sending out a clear message that irresponsible behaviour such as fly-tipping, illegal parking, littering and vehicle idling will not be tolerated.
The week of action was one of the priorities in the Council’s ‘first 100 days’ programme, and came just before the official launch of its new Community Protection Team. The team brings together Community Safety, Environmental Health and Licensing, will speed up enforcement, stop problems escalating and reduce costs.
During the week, crews raised awareness of the Council’s wide range of enforcement work, provided information and advice and took action against anti-social behaviour, above and beyond their day-to-day work, including:
- Issuing 10 Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for littering and for smoking in vehicles with under-18s present.
- Issuing 109 Parking Charge Notices (parking tickets).
- Removing one abandoned vehicle and identifying a further 30 potential vehicles for seizure.
- Towing away a vehicle that had no tax or MOT since 2013, and reporting 31 vehicles with no tax / MOT.
- Carrying out 30 spot checks of vehicles carrying waste, to ensure responsible disposal.
Cllr Susan Press, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said:
“Thank you to all the Council and Police teams who were out in force across the borough last week, spreading the important message that everyone is responsible for making Calderdale a great place to be, and that we won’t hesitate to take action against residents and businesses that break rules and the law.
“The enforcement action was highly visible and there was a really positive response from local people. We received good engagement on social media and thanks from residents who have had enough of bad behaviour that puts Calderdale’s safety and beauty at risk.”
Other action during the week included working with the Police to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking, road safety issues and idling vehicles outside schools; visiting commercial properties to ensure the correct people are registered to pay Business Rates; undertaking food safety inspections; tackling Blue Badge misuse; and inspecting houses in the private rented sector, resulting in a number of notices being issued requiring landlords to make repairs.
The Community Protection Team, with support from partner organisations, continues to tackle these issues, and more, all year round. This ‘firm but fair’ approach to enforcement supports the Vision2024 for Calderdale and its key themes of resilience and protecting our distinctive environment. In the year 2024, Calderdale will celebrate its 50th birthday. Where do we want to be by 2024? Join the conversation by following #VisionCdale2024 on social media and visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/vision