Sutton resident ordered to pay nearly £2,000 over rubbish eyesore

Paul Holmes of Beeley Avenue, Sutton, was given multiple warnings about a large build-up of waste to the rear of his garden after Ashfield Council received complaints of smells and pests at the location.

Upon inspection, officers found a large accumulation of waste which consisted of children’s toys, pipes, wood, cycle bikes, crates, barrels and animal cages.

Holmes was warned about the issues and advised numerous times to remove the waste, but the advice was ignored.

The council issued him with a community protection notice on May 25, 2022, requiring him to remove the waste within 14 days.

However, he did not comply, leading to the council’s community safety team taking legal action to prosecute him.

At Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, Holmes was fined £660 for failing to comply with the notice and ordered to pay a £264 surcharge and £1,070 costs, totalling £1,994. He was also ordered to remove the waste by February 16.

Coun Helen-Ann Smith, council deputy leader, said: “This is another example of the council taking positive action to tackle irresponsible behaviour.

“The resident showed a total lack of regard by ignoring warnings issued by the council about his waste.

“We will always try to work with residents to resolve issues like this. However, due to the adverse impact this was having, we had no choice but to take the case to court.

“Over the past year, the community safety team has prosecuted three residents through the courts for environmental-related offences.

“We will not tolerate environmental crime of any kind, and this should act as a warning to those who think that they will get away with dumping waste, fly-tipping or littering in our district.”

Antonio Taylor, council community safety manager, said: “This is another fantastic result by the team to improve the area.

“Every resident has a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly and legally. The resident in question failed in this duty of care and the evidence gathered by the team led a successful prosecution and a recovery of costs.’’

The council offers a waste collection service for large items, like fridges and freezers, which can be booked and paid for via bit.ly/40m59WE