The broadcaster spoke about about waste fees, council skip charges and littering during a major rural conference at Raby Castle today (Tuesday 2 June), writes Sarah Hartley.
“Tips must accept everything. Local authority tips must also go back to allowing people to come in and take stuff that’s left.”
Kirstie Allsopp, the broadcaster best known for TV property programmes was speaking out at Future Countryside – an annual conference for farmers, landowners, conservationists and rural enterprises.
Addressing the guests at Raby Castle in a talk titled, Stop trashing the countryside – solving the waste crisis, Ms Allsopp made the passionate plea for a collective effort to address littering and its environmental impact.
“The local authorities have to roll back on the skip taxes, the skip fees, and everything. You cannot be in a situation where it is more economical for you to fly-tip than it is to legally get rid of rubbish.
“The second thing is the fines have got to be far in excess of what they are now, and they’ve got to be implemented, and we’ve got to see people make a real example of. It’s got to be clear that you’re going to get in a lot of trouble for it.”
Ms Allsopp’s plea comes just as North Yorkshire Council introduces a controversial registration process for waste disposal and the North East region shows highest fly-tipping rates per head of population in England outside of London.
And her enthusiasm for the topic is certainly long-standing. She told the gathering about litter picking with her then young children – an activity that she still undertakes locally near her home on a regular basis.
“I’ve been doing my job for 26 years, going up and down the country all the time, and I had seen litter get worse and worse and worse and worse,” she added.
The issue of fly-tipping and the lack of government action on the issue was also highlighted by members of the audience. One related the experience of farmers who were also finding drugs paraphernalia and other criminal activities such as hare coursing coming to their land along with the fly-tipping gangs.
“The crime that mostly concerns everyone here is the crime of fly-tipping, which is massive and getting worse all the time, but it all rolls into one, because if you’re prepared to chuck stuff out of your car, you’re prepared to turn a blind eye to where the stuff in your house is going,” added Ms Allsopp.
Future Countryside also used the day-long event to launch new research highlighting the growing impact of fly-tipping on rural areas. The report, with a foreword from Allsopp, warns that fly-tipping has evolved into a national criminal enterprise, placing increasing financial and emotional burdens on farmers, landowners and rural communities. The research calls for stronger enforcement, better reporting and greater support for victims.
* This report first appeared in environmental publication, The Northern Eco at www.thenortherneco.com.
Sarah Hartley
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
