'Early warning': Andy Burnham to give mayors responsibility for cracking down on £1bn illegal dumps

Andy Burnham is to give mayors across the country new responsibilities for cracking down on illegal toxic waste dumps which are currently costing the taxpayer an estimated £1bn a year.

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin and new Greater Manchester mayor Bev Craig have been asked to run new ‘region-led’ approaches to waste crime, leading co-ordination between councils, police, regulators and other enforcement agencies.

Mr Burnham told The Yorkshire Post the responsibility “is something we hope to take to all mayors in devolved areas”.

The Prime Minister was in Bradford on Thursday morning to visit one of three illegal waste sites nationally which have now been prioritised for clearance as part of a broader new strategy on the issue.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham views an illegal rubbish dump beside Bradford City’s Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to announce a new crackdown on illegal waste dumping and action to clear up communities as part of his pledge to bring back hope across the country and tackle long-ignored issues. Picture: Scott Heppell/PA Wire

The Midland Road site, which is in the shadow of Bradford City’s stadium, was reported to the Environment Agency at the start of July following thousands of tonnes of household and commercial waste being dumped there.

House of Lords and Parliamentary committees have previously criticised failures by the police and Environment Agency to effectively tackle such sites, with organised gangs heavily involved in the activity and at least 8,000 such illegal dumps across the country.

Illegal dumping is said to be costing taxpayers around £1 billion a year through costs including clean-up operations, enforcement costs and unpaid landfill taxes.

Mr Burnham, who visited the site with Environment Secretary Angela Eagle and Bradford West MP Naz Shah, told The Yorkshire Post: “The new role being announced today for the mayor of West Yorkshire and my successor as mayor of Greater Manchester is something we hope to take to all mayors in devolved areas.

"It's a more joined-up regional approach to these issues, so that we get the early warning when a site is developing.

"Often it will be an MP like Naz ringing the mayor and saying, ‘Look, there's something going on here in community’. Then it's the ability of the mayor to connect to that wider resource – the Environment Agency in the lead backed by the National Crime Agency with a joint approach to enforcement.

"We feel confident that this is the way we will get on top of this issue, and by getting on top of it, it means the public purse doesn't pay because we will then enforce against those responsible and making them pay for the clean up.”

Fines for waste offences will also rise from £300 to £5,000, while the use of drones will also increase.

Ms Brabin said: “Fly tipping is completely unacceptable. It scars our streets and green spaces, attracts anti-social behaviour, damages pride in local areas and costs taxpayers millions every year.

“Hard-working people should not have to live with the consequences and foot the bill while individuals and organised crime groups dump waste in their communities.

“That’s why I’m delighted West Yorkshire is one of the first regions to bring agencies together, giving us a leading role in driving action to tackle waste crime and protect our neighbourhoods from further harm.”