Over 70 fines issued for urinating and littering in London Fields
Over 70 fines were issued for urinating and littering in London Fields and the surrounding side streets over the weekend, as large volumes of rubbish were cleared by Council staff from parks across the borough.
The 72 fines - of £150 each - were issued by Council enforcement officers deployed to help park staff maintain Hackney’s green spaces over the weekend.
Significant volumes of rubbish remain an issue in the borough’s parks, and the Council is encouraging people to take rubbish home with them or use the 84 new large commercial capacity bins it has delivered to parks across the borough.
Toilets in parks are now open from 12 - 9pm every day, but the Council is encouraging people to return home if they need to use the loo where possible to reduce pressure on these spaces and wider Council resources.
Saturday and Sunday also saw large volumes of rubbish cleared from all green spaces across the borough.
The Council is urging people to:
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Keep two metres apart at all times, unless from same household
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Avoid gathering in groups of more than six people, unless from the same household
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Take litter home or put it in the bin
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Return home to use the toilet if possible to reduce pressure on Council resources
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Respect the borough’s parks and their staff
The Council has already implemented its full summer waste collection routines for parks a month early, which will see more staff collect rubbish first thing in the morning and into the evening.
However, this is placing increased pressure on Council resources - with rubbish collections during the summer at London Fields alone last year costing nearly £100,000 and additional bins expected to cost £80,000.
I’m proud to be one of the team keeping our parks looking at their best, but we really need everyone’s help this summer to keep them looking beautiful and clean. Please help us out by taking litter home or throwing it in a bin.
Parks are a vital resource for all in the borough, and especially for those without access to private or communal green spaces. However, the amount of litter and antisocial behaviour witnessed in our parks over the last week is completely unacceptable .
Not only are people putting themselves and others at risk from coronavirus - they’re placing an even bigger strain on the Council’s resources when our annual Government grant has been cut by £140m since 2010.
We’re doing all we can to keep parks open and help limit the spread of coronavirus and I’d like to thank parks staff and members of the public who have been helping to litter pick and keep green spaces tidy. However, people need to take responsibility by sticking to the Government’s guidelines on coronavirus, and treating our parks and the staff who work so hard to keep them open with respect.
Our enforcement officers are working closely with our parks team and the police to keep our parks safe, clean and open. It is completely unacceptable that some have chosen to abuse this precious resource and disrespect the members of the community that live nearby.
This weekend, despite the opening of public toilets and installation of additional bins, it was necessary to issue over 70 fines for public urination and littering in London fields and surrounding side streets. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners to tackle this and ensure that our community can continue to enjoy our parks and relax in their homes free from the anti-social behaviour of an inconsiderate few.