Man fined £200 and ordered to pay £300 costs after fly-tipping in two residential garage blocks in Crawley

Crawley Borough Council Community Protection Officers found the fly-tipped waste at garage block sites in Chippendale Road, Broadfield, in August 2022 and at Boswell Road, Tilgate, in October 2022.

The waste found at the sites included decorating materials, several black bin liners of domestic rubbish, household refurbishment waste, packaging and several letters addressed to persons in the Croydon and Crawley areas. Crawley Borough Council’s Corporate Fraud team subsequently commenced an investigation into the matter.

The persons were traced and contacted. Enquiries identified that Mr Jon Junior Blair, also known as Junior Manwaring and Junior Terry, was hired and paid to clear waste, transport it away and dispose of it from several addresses, including properties in Thornton Heath, Croydon and Crawley.

Further enquiries made by Crawley Borough Council’s Corporate Investigation Team traced Mr Blair to an address in Croydon High Street. He was served a Requirement to Produce Authority to Transport Controlled Waste notice and a Requirement to Produce Written Information Regarding a Waste Transfer notice on March 15, 2023.

The production deadline for these statutory documents was March 22, 2023. Mr Blair failed to produce either his waste carrier’s licence or a copy of the waste transfer note for the waste clearance jobs he undertook at the various properties, thereby committing two respective offences. He also failed to make any comment in respect of the notice regarding allegations of illegal fly-tipping.

Consequently, a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) was sent to him on March 31, 2023 for each offence as an alternative to prosecution, but no payment was received. On the basis that Mr Blair made no payment in respect of either of the Fixed Penalty Notices, failed to provide any of the required statutory documents and did not provide an explanation, Crawley Borough Council instigated legal proceedings against him.

Mr Blair failed to attend the initial court hearing and a warrant backed with bail was subsequently served on him. The case proceeded with a further hearing at Crawley Magistrate’s Court on March 25, 2024 and Mr Blair pleaded guilty to two offences. He was fined £200 and ordered to pay the council’s awarded costs of £300.

Councillor Bob Noyce, Cabinet member for Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change, said: “We have a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping and are continuing to crackdown on those that offend, particularly in residential garage areas.

“Fly-tipping costs the taxpayer money, looks unsightly and has a detrimental effect on our environment. We will continue to investigate incidents and prosecute anyone found guilty of fly-tipping.”

The council’s Community Protection Officers investigate incidents of fly-tipping and work with the Corporate Investigations Team to catch and prosecute the people involved.

For more information about the Community Protection Officers, visit: crawley.gov.uk/community/protecting-crawley/community-protection-team/about-community-protection-team.