The presence of graffiti, litter, dog fouling, fly posting and other environmental crime in our Neighbourhoods increases people’s fear of crime. Wigan Council has a responsibility to protect our communities from litter and debris promoting environmental quality for all those who live, work and visit the Borough. We also recognise the community has a responsibility for the environment and we will encourage respect and standard setting in our neighbourhoods through the Partners and Communities Teams. Only by working together can we achieve a quality local environment.
Education and awareness raising plays a vital role in improving our environment by providing information and advice to individuals, businesses and organisations, we can work together to achieve our objectives of a Cleaner, Greener and Safer Borough. Enforcement ensures that those individuals, businesses and organisations who blight our Borough are held accountable for their actions.
Dog Fouling and Litter are among the top concerns of residents, Wigan Council spends £3.6 million every year keeping our borough clean, we all have a responsibility to improve our neighbourhoods.
Environmental crime includes Litter, Dog Fouling, Fly Posting and Graffiti/Criminal Damage. Over 150 Enforcement Officers from the Council, Greater Manchester Police and Wigan & Leigh Housing have been trained to challenge environmental crime.
Anyone committing an environmental crime will be approach by an Authorised Officer. The officer will take the person’s name address and telephone number as well as details of the offence. This record will then be forwarded to the Safer Neighbourhood Section, a decision on the type of enforcement action will be taken and the individual will be contacted.
Council Authorised Officers carry with them cameras and dictaphones which they can use to record notes. Individual officers will introduce themselves and show their identity card. All records are held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 principles. An officer may take a picture of an individual who has committed an offence, any images of an individual including CCTV will be used to aid identification and can be used as evidence in any prosecution.
Enforcement action is in line with the aims and objectives of Wigan Council’s Enforcement Policy, Environmental Enforcement Strategy and the Enforcement Concordat.
Related information
If you would like to discuss environmental enforcement please contact Safer Neighbourhoods Manager, Wigan Town Hall, Library St, Wigan WN1 1YN. 01942 827949.
