MORE than 1,200 fines have been dished out by enforcement teams acting on behalf of the Central Area Council in the last two years.
Kingdom Security, commissioned by the area council which includes Central, Dodworth, Kingstone, Stairfoot and Worsbrough wards, worked from April 1 2017 to the end of March this year.
A new provider - District Enforcement - took over the contract in April and is set to provide its first quarterly report next month.
A total of 1,225 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued for littering and dog fouling by Kingdom in the two-year contract, with last year’s figures revealing Central and Stairfoot were the worst-hit areas with 212 and 178 fines respectively.
Worsbrough, 80, Kingstone, 78 and Dodworth’s 15 FPNs made up the total from 2018/19 - the latter of which came under scrutiny from newly-elected councillor, Peter Fielding, and ward colleague Coun Phillip Birkinshaw at Monday’s Central Area Council meeting at Barnsley Town Hall.
Coun Burkinshaw called for enforcement officers to target three areas - Keresforth Hill Road, Dodworth bypass and Higham Lane - at rush hours.
“The figures are low for Dodworth,” he added. “Those three areas could result in 50 FPNs being issued every single day as it’s that bad with litter. Luckily we have some fantastic volunteers who clear the rubbish left behind but without them, who knows what the area would look like?
“These vehicles use the roads regularly, so I believe it’s the same people responsible. We report the issues and the officers then visit, but it’s forgotten about within a week and then we’re back to square one.”
Carol Brady, manager of the area council, said Stairfoot and Central wards’ higher density of shops generated a higher volume of people.
“Each of the five wards have the same amount of patrolling time, but Dodworth’s FPN figures have always been lower,” she added.
“There’s no target set for hitting a certain amount of FPNs as it’s very much intelligence-led, but hotspot areas are patrolled and these can change daily.”
Meanwhile, children who are caught dropping litter will continue to be offered a place on a local clean-up in order to make them think twice.
An alleyway near Horizon Community College, on Dodworth Road, was identified as a hotspot for litter at Monday’s meeting which has resulted in residents complaining about kids allegedly throwing waste into their gardens.
Carol Brady, the manager for Central Area Council, said: “They’re often underage so previously we’ve offered the youngsters a place on a litter-picking activity in their local area.
“We’ve utilised this before to good effect at the Barnsley Main site and we will be doing the same.”
