Agenda item

Progress report for the previously completed Bonfires on Public Land review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Bonfires on Public Land.  This was the second progress update following the Committee’s agreement of the Action Plan in November 2022, with developments in relation to the outstanding agreed action noted as follows:

• Recommendation 5 (To further deter the construction and lighting of unauthorised bonfires, SBC identifies any alternative sites within the Borough where official bonfires may be able to be facilitated in the future): There was continued work to identify and accurately track bonfire hotspots, and this would continue throughout the year and approaching 2023 season.  Case Management Officers had been tasked with engagement activity over the next few months to identify potential sites and discuss with residents and businesses, and work was being undertaken with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Licensing and SBC Corporate Communications to identify and publicise organised events across social media platforms.

Further developments in relation to agreed actions previously signed-off in March 2023 as fully achieved were also relayed to the Committee.  Some minor errors on the enclosed information leaflets had been identified and corrected, and it was stated that Shrewsbury Town Council was no longer proceeding with their approach to unauthorised bonfires.  Incident reporting and recording was also being thoroughly investigated this year as there was a desire to understand why people were behaving the way they were – this would inform the Action Plan ahead of the annual bonfire season.

In related matters, the Committee began its questioning by highlighting problems with people bringing van loads of fireworks into an area.  Officers stated that it was difficult to counter such activity without intelligence, and the Council and its key partners relied on information regarding where fireworks were being stored and sold.  From a SBC perspective, reports of inappropriate firework sales or rogue products elicited a multi-department response from both the Licensing and Trading Standards teams respectively.

The issue of fly-tipping was raised by Members who also promoted the established online reporting mechanisms which had previously proved effective in reducing the availability of things to burn.  Assurance was given that people could be prosecuted for putting materials on bonfires, and that whilst fly-tipping rates were significant across the Borough, SBC recorded it differently to other Local Authorities.  The level of prosecutions for fly-tipping was low, but was only one means of enforcement – fixed penalty notices (FPNs) had been used (for a first offence only) without the need to go to court, though more significant fly-tipping was prosecuted where required.

With reference to the draft information leaflets included in the supplementary document outlining further progress on actions previously achieved, the Committee queried if there was any evidence that these posters worked, and commented that some had too much text.  Officers acknowledged that certain individuals who were minded to set fires would ignore such messaging, but that there was some evidence that fly-tipping incidents had reduced.  Leaflets / posters promoted reporting mechanisms and were distributed in both hard-copy and electronic format, though it was important to determine the best type of communications for a specific area (e.g. correspondence using a SBC letterhead had proved effective in some Wards).

Recognising that fire setting was not confined to the Borough, Members asked if officers worked with other Tees Valley Local Authorities to mitigate bonfire-related issues.  It was subsequently confirmed that work was undertaken on a regional and national basis (particularly Trading Standards) with colleagues from other Councils.  Further to a query on engagement with children’s charities around diversionary activities, officers confirmed that liaison mainly takes place with SBC Youth Support and Corner House Youth Project.

Finally, attention was drawn to the use of the term ‘mischief night’, with Members emphasising that some of the actions seen during that particular evening were anything but ‘mischief’ and were more akin to criminal behaviour.  Officers fully accepted this view, though noted that the term was used as that was how it was known locally.

AGREED that:

1)    the Bonfires on Public Land progress update be noted and the assessment for progress be confirmed.

2) the next update on progress be scheduled for the Committee meeting in December 2023.