Councillors welcome enforcement progress – but say residents still want to see more police on streets

At Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet meeting today councillors were told of the authority's progress in enforcement over the last 12 months.

The council's officers have handed out more than 200 fixed penalties for fly tipping, 84 for littering from vehicles, and issued 5,671 parking tickets.

A report on the issue also highlighted progress with CCTV and £75,000 of funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, John Campion, to tackle fly-tipping on private land.

The support of the commissioner was singled out by Council leader Shaun Davies during the meeting.

Discussing the report Councillor Richard Overton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Enforcement and Transport, said that a survey had found the borough to be "safest major town in Shropshire and among the top 10 nationally".

Councillor Paul Watling, Cabinet Member for Stronger and Safer Communities, said: "This is again showing how we are using enforcement as a positive role in our communities and our communities are seeing real action against people causing problems in our communities."

Councillor Shirley Reynolds Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, and Families added: "The use of CCTV has has been excellent right across so many areas of the borough, not only in our market towns, it is in our communities, it is in our parks."

Councillor Davies said he welcomed the progress, and the support of Mr Campion, but added that residents still want to see more police on the beat – a point also raised by Councillor Lee Carter, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Regeneration and the High Street.

He said: "The vast majority of our residents in Telford & Wrekin follow the law, play by the rules, and most communities are safe, good places to work, live, and visit, and I think we all need to make sure that is absolutely where we are to make sure we don't scaremonger and put people off areas because our borough is a safe and very good place to be.

"But for those small number of people who do not play by the rules it has also been this administration's view that we will come after you and we will sort you with the powers we have got – whether you are a dodgy landlord or someone who want to fly tip and drop litter, then we will use our powers to enforce the rules on behalf of the majority.

"I think we have made massive strides over the last five years about the enforcement agenda, particularly around CCTV. I have got to say I think our CCTV system now is a very good system and a system we can trust.

"I would like to thank publicly the Police and Crime Commissioner who has been very supportive of the work we do with the resources he has got.

"But there is more than we can do, and I think Lee's point around local police officers being seen on the beat is that thing residents say to me most. They would like to see more police officers out providing that reassurance.

"It does frustrate me sometimes we see more police officers outside a football ground on a match day than we do in our communities and wards across the week, and I think our residents do want to see those police officers out and about and I think it is something we would like to work with them on."