Businesses and individuals have been ordered to pay more than £14,000 after Bedford Borough Council secured a series of environmental crime prosecutions.
The cases, heard at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 28 April, involved offences ranging from fly-tipping and illegal advertising to failures to provide commercial waste documentation and control vermin.
In total, the council’s Enviro Crime team secured convictions resulting in more than £14,000 in fines, costs and victim surcharges.
Waste offences
Two Bedford businesses were prosecuted for failing to provide documentation demonstrating that their commercial waste was being disposed of legally.
- Maison Le Votre Ltd, in Bedford, was ordered to pay £3,095 after failing to comply with a notice requiring it to produce waste disposal records.
- Company director Mohammed Lal Khan was separately fined £1,355 in connection with the offence.
- Kashmir Peri Peri Grill & Pizza Ltd, also in Bedford, was ordered to pay £1,041 after failing to provide similar documentation following reports that household bins were being used for commercial waste.
- The company’s director, Sikander Sagher, was separately ordered to pay £901.
Fly-tipping and fly-posting
A Bedford resident was fined £2,000 after failing to assist an investigation into fly-tipped waste.
The court heard officers examining the dumped waste found documents linking it to Vasilica Cojoc’s address. Despite repeated requests, she failed to engage with the investigation or provide an explanation.
In a separate case, Florin Visan, of Kempston, was ordered to pay £507 after admitting responsibility for fly-tipped waste discovered in Beatrice Street.
The court heard he was initially offered a fixed penalty notice but failed to pay it.
The company had been linked to unauthorised advertising displayed across Bedford and Kempston between April and September last year.
“Clear message”
Councillor Andrea Spice (Conservative), portfolio holder for economic prosperity, planning, housing and regulatory services, said: “These prosecutions send a clear message: Bedford Borough Council will not tolerate acts that damage our environment or blight our communities.
“Fly-tipping and other environmental crimes are not victimless. They harm neighbourhoods, undermine local pride and cost taxpayers’ money to clear up.
“We will continue to take robust action against those who break the law, while making it as easy as possible for residents and businesses to dispose of their waste responsibly.”
The council is urging residents and businesses to dispose of waste responsibly and report environmental offences, including fly-tipping and fly-posting.
