Local authority notices
Section 20 Litter clearing notices
78.Previously principal litter authorities could apply the duty in section 89 of the 1990 Act for land to be kept clear of litter and refuse to other public places (such as shopping centres) by designating litter control areas under section 90 of the 1990 Act. Any occupier of relevant land within that area was then required to keep their land free from litter and refuse. However, litter control areas were very infrequently used by local authorities which considered the process for designation to be overly complicated.
79.Section 20 repeals the power to designate litter control areas (and Schedule 5 repeals provisions of the 1990 Act which are consequential on that power). As an alternative, the section inserts a new section 92A into the 1990 Act empowering principal litter authorities to serve “litter clearing notices” on particular occupiers where they are of the view that defacement caused by the litter or refuse is detrimental to the amenity of the area.
80.Under this measure, a litter clearing notice may be served on an occupier of any land in the open air except for land specified in section 92A(11). If the land is unoccupied, the notice may be served on the owner. Notices may require the land to be cleared of litter and refuse within a certain time, and may specify steps to be taken to prevent future defacement. Section 92A(7) allows the appropriate person (as described in section 98(1A) introduced by section 26) to issue guidance to local authorities on any aspect of their use of litter clearing notices, for example, in relation to standards that may be specified for the clearance of the litter and refuse. Section 92A(8) also gives the appropriate person an order-making power to specify the form and content of litter clearing notices.
81.Section 92B gives a person on whom a litter clearing notice is served the right of appeal to a magistrates’ court and sets out the grounds on which such an appeal may be made.
82.Section 92C makes it an offence to fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a litter clearing notice. Where a person fails to meet the requirements of a notice, a principal litter authority may itself enter the land to remove the litter and refuse. An authority may then impose a reasonable charge for this on the person who failed to comply with the notice.
Section 21 Street litter control notices
83.Under sections 93 and 94 of the 1990 Act, certain principal litter authorities can prevent accumulations of litter and refuse in and around any street or open land adjacent to any street by issuing a street litter control notice. This imposes requirements on occupiers of premises to deal with litter and refuse.
84.Section 21 amends sections 93 and 94 of the 1990 Act. Subsection (1) extends the application of street litter control notices to cover also vehicles, stalls and other moveable structures used for street vending, so that mobile vendors can also be required to take steps to minimise and clear up litter and refuse on any street or open land adjacent to it that originates from their commercial or retail activities.
85.Prior to section 21 coming into force, a person only committed an offence in relation to a street litter control notice if, on an application by the authority, he failed to comply with an order of the magistrates’ court requiring compliance with the notice. This required the authority to first seek a court order for compliance where a street litter control notice is not complied with, which made it difficult and costly for the authority to enforce.
86.Subsections (2) and (3) amend this to make it an immediate offence not to comply with the requirements of a street litter control notice, thus dispensing with the requirement on the authority first to seek an order from the magistrates’ court ordering compliance.
Section 22 Failure to comply with notice: fixed penalty notices
87.Section 22 inserts section 94A into the 1990 Act to enable an authorised officer of the authority to issue a notice to a person who he has reason to believe has not complied with a litter clearing notice or a street litter control notice, offering that person an opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction for an offence by payment of a fixed penalty.
88.Section 94A(4) enables a principal litter authority to specify the amount of fixed penalty applicable in its area for the offences under sections 92C and 94; the fixed penalty (for either offence) is set at £100 where no amount is set by a local authority. Section 94A(5) permits the principal litter authority to make provision for treating the fixed penalty as paid if a lesser sum is received by it within such (shorter) period as it may specify.
89.The use of receipts from these fixed penalty notices is dealt with under section 96.
