From Monday (December 1), Kingdom Local Authority Support officers will be working to reduce fly-tipping through issuing fines and engaging with residents.

They will be working alongside the council’s existing waste management contractor, FCC, which already clears fly-tips amounting to several tons a week across the borough.

Fly-tipped rubbish on a country lane near Essendon in Welwyn Hatfield (Image: Christopher Day/LDRS)

The new contract – initially a 12-month pilot scheme – follows the council’s decision not to renew its previous pilot with District Enforcement Ltd after the company was accused of taking an overzealous approach to issuing fly-tipping fines.

It affected residents such as Martin Fielder, who received a £500 fine after a single envelope with his name on was found close to his bins, and Samantha Jackson, who received a fine for two cardboard boxes that she had handed to volunteers at a charity shop.

The previous contract saw the number of fly-tipping fines rise from 23 across the whole of 2023 to 150 in January 2025 alone.

Almost one in three fines issued in January were cancelled after complaints from residents, and the number of fly-tipping fines issued fell to just eight in February.

John Roberts, chief services officer at Kingdom LAS, said he was aware of the concerns around the previous contract and added: “I believe our processes will stop a lot of those complaints.”

He stressed that much of their time in Welwyn Hatfield will be spent on attempting to change behaviour through engaging with residents, and added that their “thorough” investigation process will ensure that any waste found will not be “prejudged” to have been a fly-tip from the off. 

A fly-tip at Goldings Crescent in Hatfield (Image: Christopher Day/LDRS)

“One of our officers is going to go out with each of the waste crews, so as they’re collecting, we will investigate.”

When considering whether to proceed with cases, Mr Roberts said: “We need to be able to meet two markers.

“There’s the evidential marker … and then what’s in the public interest. Is it in the public interest for us to process this through the courts?”

In cases, for example, where a single empty cardboard box has allegedly been fly-tipped, Mr Roberts said: “It’s very difficult for me to be able to go to a court and prove beyond all reasonable doubt that that hasn’t come from somewhere else, from a missed collection or anywhere else.

“If there’s a single cardboard box, we won’t be issuing a fixed penalty notice for it…it’s got to be three boxes or more, unless we’ve got absolute proof.

“It’s going to be case dependent, looking at the evidence to make sure it’s right for the community.

“Every case we take on should be able to be prosecuted.”

Fly-tipped rubbish next to a bin on Bishops Rise in Hatfield – one of several bins to look like this (Image: Christopher Day/LDRS)

Kingdom’s officers will be assisted by their WasteWatch camera technology, which can be put up in hotspot areas to record fly-tipping and the registration plates of vehicles found to be involved.

Mr Roberts continued: “Ultimately, this is about reducing litter and fly-tipping as the residents have asked for through their councillors.

“We know that there is a big problem and we want to tackle it. We want to leave Welwyn Hatfield a cleaner, better place.”

While the previous contract included a target for 1,000 fines to be issued over 12 months, no similar target exists in the new contract.

Financially, though, it will operate on the same model as the previous contract. There is no upfront cost to the council, with Kingdom’s work instead funded through revenue from fines being split between Kingdom and the council.

The council, as with the previous contract, has refused to provide the percentage split.

Similar contracts elsewhere have seen councils retain around 20 per cent of revenue and, in West Northamptonshire, Kingdom receive 90 per cent of all revenue from fines. 

Mr Roberts’ hope, however, is that the work they do will reduce the amount of fly-tipping in the borough and reduce the amount of money the council has to spend on cleaning it up.

The borough council’s executive member for the environment, Cllr Sandreni Bonfante, said she is “delighted” to be working with Kingdom “to address these issues which I know are important to local residents and businesses”. 

“Instilling pride in our environment and helping our residents feel safe where they live are two key priorities for the council,” she added.