Paul Bristow interview: Peterborough MP demands ‘zero tolerance’ for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour

Paul Bristow has previously called on the Government to change guidance to local councils and call on them to take a “zero tolerance” approach to the problem.

During an adjournment debate he led in the House of Commons in October he pushed for the guidance to be upgraded from a “proportionate” response which states that: “Individuals should not be penalised for minor breaches.”

Instead, he wants the guidance to “reflect the language of zero tolerance, which I believe the people of Peterborough and the rest of the country are crying out for”.

He added during the debate in Parliament that fixed penalty notices beginning at £150 are “inadequate” and should be increased.

Cracking down on fly-tipping was one of Mr Bristow’s campaign pledges ahead of his election victory last December, and reflecting on his first 12 months as the MP for Peterborough he believes progress has been made in the city.

In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph, he said: “I was elected on three things: Brexit was one of them, but the other two were crime and anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. And I press the council on a regular basis to take a zero tolerance approach to both those issues.

“We need to name and shame fly-tippers, stricter fines and more CCTV. They don’t always agree with me, but on the vast majority of occasions the local authority completely agrees with my attitude on these issues.

“I’m convinced that they are going to take a tougher approach, clean up our city and make sure there are no, no-go areas and work with the local police to make that happen.”

Currently, fly-tippers in Peterborough can be fined up to £400, although if they are taken through court magistrates have the powers to fine them up to £50,000 and imprison them for up to a year.

The offence can also attract an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison if an offender is convicted in a crown court.

Mr Bristow added: “I think the council can do more and I want to see more CCTV areas, but if you look at the stats Peterborough in terms of issuing fly-tipping fines and seeking prosecutions is actually among the best in the whole country.

“About a quarter of local authorities in the whole country have not issued a single fine. So there is an understanding that this is a problem that needs to be taken seriously, but I’m always going to press them to do even more.”

On the issue of anti-social behaviour, Mr Bristow stated: “I’m pleased the council and the police are working very closely together to try and clean up our city centre. When it comes to issues such as street drinking and anti-social behaviour there’s a real determination to do something.

“I want to see that extended and pushed out into other parts of Peterborough. It’s not okay that we see street prostitution on Burghley Road on a daily basis, it’s not okay that we see areas in Peterborough where needles are discarded, it’s not okay that we wander through parts of our city where you can smell marijuana and drugs coming from open windows and people smoking them quite openly.

“If we crack down on the small things like people smoking drugs, like people spitting or urinating in the street, like prostitution, you will see improved behaviour by everybody else. That’s my aim.”

Cambridgeshire police recently announced it was halving its number of PCSOs from 80 to 40 to help tackle a deficit of £6.6 million, although it is set to receive additional officers as part of the Government’s national allocation of 20,000 more roles.

Asked how the PCSO cut would impact his call for a zero tolerance approach on anti-social behaviour, Mr Bristow replied: “The police definitely have more money now than they’ve had in previous years. Police budgets are going up and the Government has promised to recruit 20,000 more police officers - we have 99 extra in Cambridgeshire.

“We need the majority of those to be placed in Peterborough because we’ve got the biggest crime problems.

“I don’t quite understand how the local constabulary have been able to spin this into a negative story because it’s getting more bodies on the ground, and that’s the important thing.”

This is one of a five-part interview with Mr Bristow.

The remaining articles will appear at: https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics.