Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

No apologies were received.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on  the 8^th October 2025

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 8^th October 2025  be approved as a correct record.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

Councillor David Longstaff declared an ‘other’ interest in Agenda Items 7 and 8 (Minute No. 24 and 25) as a serving magistrate.

Councillor John Taylor declared an ‘other’ interest in Agenda Items 7 and 8 (Minute No. 24 and 25) as the Alternative Director for SUEZ (Kirklees) Limited.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Panel.

All agenda items were considered in public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.       

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No public questions were received.

The Panel will consider the presentation ‘Solutions to Fly-tipping’.

Contact:

Katherine Armitage, Service Director, Environment and Climate Change  

The Panel considered a presentation in respect of Solutions to Fly-tipping, which was presented byKatherine Armitage, Service Director for Environmental Strategy and Climate Change. Councillor Amanda Pinnock, Cabinet Member for Communities and Environment was in attendance and introduced the item.

The Panel were advised that:

• Fly-tipping was the illegal dumping of waste on land without a licence, ranging from small bags to truckloads.
• It was identified as a criminal offence causing environmental damage, public health risks, and significant clearance costs.
• Responsibility for clearance varied, with Councils typically managing public land and the Environment Agency handling large-scale/hazardous waste and organised crime. Private landowners were responsible for their land.
• National trends showed:
  • A 20% increase in fly-tipping over five years.
  • 60% of incidents involved household waste, with highways being the most common location (37%).
  • The most frequent size was a small van load (31%).
  • Annual costs exceeded £100 million.
  • Enforcement actions and fixed penalty notices had decreased, despite higher-than-average court fines.
• Benchmarking indicated:
  • The national average was 20 incidents per 1,000 residents.
  • Kirklees was slightly below this at 18.8 incidents per 1,000 residents.
  • Every ward in Kirklees had at least one hotspot, with Greenhead, Crosland Moor and Netherton, Dewsbury West, and Newsome having the highest concentrations.
  • Fly-tipping incidents in Kirklees had increased, with projections showing further rises.
• Focused action reduced the backlog:
  • From 1,401 cases in September 2025 to 546 cases.
  • Response times improved from 12 weeks to 4 weeks.
  • CCTV and enforcement were acknowledged as useful but limited due to legal compliance, resource intensity, and evidence requirements.
• Evidence-based action emphasised reducing demand, not just clearing waste. Seven critical areas were identified, five of which councils could influence:

1.    Providing householders with information.

2.    Making disposal easy.

3.    Impactful enforcement.

4.    Evidence-based policies.

5.    Supporting a circular economy.

• A Fly-tipping and Litter Strategy was developed with officers, members, and communities, focusing on behaviour change, education, engagement, enforcement, and clearance. Work had begun with Keep Britain Tidy.
• Cross-service collaboration was planned, involving multiple council departments, elected members, and community groups.
•  Proven interventions included Crime Scene Investigation Tape and Social Impact Stencils.
• The short to medium term plan was to implement proven interventions and develop a data-driven strategy.
• In the medium to long term, plans were to fully implement the strategy with annual action plans.

The Panel noted the presentation and, during the subsequent discussion, raised the following questions and points.

·       In response to a comment from the Panel in relation to benchmarking, it was noted that in benchmarking on a local level there may be significant differences by area and that it was important to understand this.

·       In response to a comment from the Panel in relation to the target for fly-tipping reduction it as noted that it was important to be more ambitious and the Panel recommended that this be set at 0%.

·       The Panel noted concerns that the closure of Nab Lane Household Waste Facility and collection costs had made bulky waste disposal harder for residents. It was advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

The Panel will consider a presentation from Keep Britian Tidy in respect of Litterpact.

Contact:

Katherine Armitage, Service Director, Environment and Climate Change  

The Panel considered an update from Natalie Depledge and Andrea Crump from Keeping Britain Tidy, who gave a presentation in respect of ‘LitterPact’ and the Love Where You Live’ project. Councillor Amanda Pinnock, Cabinet Member for Communities and Environment was also in attendance and introduced the item.

The Panel were advised that;

·       The Love Where You Live Heckmondwike project was introduced as a 12-month pilot which aimed to:

o   Reduce litter on the ground.

o   Change public attitudes toward littering and perceptions of tidiness.

o   Develop a blueprint for local authorities to replicate.

·       The project was delivered by Keep Britain Tidy in partnership with Kirklees Council and major brands including Coca-Cola, KFC, Mars Wrigley, McDonald’s, and Nestlé.

·       Heckmondwike was selected because:

o   It represented a typical small northern town with a population of 18,000.

o   Half of its Lower Super Output Areas were among the most deprived.

o   It had clear geographic boundaries and moderate footfall.

• The project consisted of five strands:

1.    Monitoring and data collection.

2.    Behaviour change interventions.

3.    Marketing, communications, and PR.

4.    Community and business engagement.

5.    Political and local authority engagement.

• Baseline monitoring in Autumn 2024 included:

o   Two focus groups, a public perception survey, and a Local Environmental Quality (LEQ) ground litter survey.

o   Findings showed 56% of residents agreed they loved where they lived, 10% below the national average.

• Behaviour change interventions implemented included:

• Bin It for Good – which incentivised bin use through donations to local causes, which reduced litter by 52%.

• Still Littering – which targeted “leave behind” litter, reduced litter by 41%.
• Bin Your Gum – which addressed gum littering with grant support, demonstrated up to 80% gum litter reduction in other areas.

• Marketing and PR activities achieved coverage in local and regional media, outdoor advertising, stakeholder emails, and social media campaigns.
• Community and business engagement involved:

o   Distribution of information packs.

o   Launch of the ‘Adopt an Area’ scheme.

o   School engagement and a Good Business Guide.

·       Political engagement included:

• Development of a best practice blueprint for other councils.
• Planned launch at Keep Britain Tidy’s Annual Network Conference.
• National showcase at Westminster via the All-Party Parliamentary Group

·       The next steps included:

• Completion of remaining interventions.
• Endline LEQ and perception research.
• Development of a blueprint for replication.
• Collaboration on a fly-tipping strategy.
• Economic impact assessment of the project.

The Panel noted the presentation and during the subsequent discussion, raised the following questions and points.

·       In response to a question from the Panel in relation to how the learning from the project could be applied in more rural areas, it was advised that the project demonstrated that building a strong evidence base was crucial to understanding the types of litter in an area and the right type of interventions to implement to best address this. Work was being undertaken to replicate the approach to data collection within the availble resources when developing the new Fly-tipping strategy.

·       In response to a question from the Panel in relation to engagement with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The Panel will consider its Work Programme for 2025/26

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel reviewed its Work Programme for 2025/26 and the following items were put forward for inclusion:

RESOLVED:

(1)  An update on net 0 targets