South Holland crusaders against litter and fly-tipping have called for urgent action from the district’s leaders.
Regular letter-writer Paul Matten sent his latest findings to the press and the district council and is now threatening legal action on environmental grounds.
He wrote: “I don’t expect any action from SHDC any time soon, but I will start prosecution proceedings against SHDC in the County Court, unless SHDC can provide an assurance that suitable action to clean up the town of Spalding is provided.”
In a separate letter, addressed to the council, Sir John Hayes MP and the press, Ian Haynes has laid out the legal grounds for action.
Mr Haynes writes: “I am writing as a resident of Spalding and South Holland to declare the complete failure of the management of litter within the SHDC area of responsibility in relation to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse as issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 under section 89 (1 & 2).
“It is apparent under the guidance and code of practice the council is failing to provide the required cleaning services to maintain the areas of responsibility to a standard laid down and legally obligated to the council in a proactive manner.”
Mr Haynes acknowledged budgetary restraints but said: “The code of practice section 6.2 indicates that good management should alleviate the requirement for any additional cost to maintain an area to an acceptable standard. Therefore the Government document clearly states if this is not the case it is clearly poor management of resources and not financial restraint and this document was reviewed in 2018 and so is most definitely relevant.”
District council leader Gary Porter thanked Mr Haynes for his letter and said he will speak to SHDC environmental team about the issue.
