Calderdale Council is looking at a new approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour and other offences like fly-tipping, planning breaches and dangerous housing conditions.
A full review of enforcement across the Council has been carried out and a new, more efficient, ‘firm but fair’ approach is being proposed, which makes the most of Council resources.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Susan Press, said:
“Ensuring residents and visitors to Calderdale feel safe and protected is a priority for the Council. It’s also vital that people have confidence that if any issues are encountered, they will be dealt with quickly, firmly and effectively.
“Following a review of all areas of enforcement activity, a new, more streamlined process has been developed, which makes the best use of available resources.”
To deliver a system of enforcement that is successful and meets people’s expectations, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet will now consider the findings of the review and discuss proposals for a restructure of the Council’s Environmental Health, Licensing and Community Safety teams.
The new structure will ensure that issues are assessed and quickly passed to the most relevant and appropriately skilled team of officers based upon the key principle of early intervention to stop issues escalating in both severity and cost.
The review also identified potential improvements in the procedures related to abandoned vehicles and dealing with fly tipping. A new approach is currently being explored, which may involve individuals identified through fly tipped waste having to explain and demonstrate that they have taken care in disposing of their waste.
It also looked at other critical areas of enforcement, such as planning, housing and highways and noted the progress already made in these areas as well as identifying potential improvements to some processes.
The change in approach to enforcement would also support Calderdale’s Vision 2024 and its key themes of resilience and protecting our distinctive environment. It also contributes to the Vision through improving people’s quality of life and helping Calderdale to be a place where people want to live, work and visit.
Where do we want to be by 2024? How will the Calderdale of 2024 be different from the place it is now? What ambitions do we share? Join the conversation by following #VisionCdale2024 on social media and visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/council/vision-2024
The enforcement review and proposed structure will be discussed at the meeting of Calderdale Council’s Cabinet on Monday 11 February from 6pm.