Coventry Conservatives are calling on the Council to adopt drone technology as part of a strengthened local strategy to tackle persistent and costly fly-tipping. Fly-tipping remains a major issue for communities and council services in Coventry, with thousands of incidents reported each year.
In the past year alone, Coventry City Council’s Environmental Enforcement Team has handled more than 11,000 fly-tipping referrals and investigated over 3,000 individual incidents. Fly-tipping also costs taxpayers dearly and around £500,000 has been allocated by the council this year just to tackle illegal dumping.
Several UK councils have already turned to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to support anti-fly-tipping operations. Herefordshire Council’s drone has helped officers access remote locations and capture footage used in investigations, supporting enforcement action against offenders.
Maidstone Borough Council reported that drones equipped with thermal imaging technology can help identify fly-tipped waste in minutes rather than hours. It’s particularly effective across rural land allowing crews to clear reported incidents faster and supporting multi-agency enforcement.
The problem of illegal waste dumping is not limited to Coventry. Government data and independent analyses show that councils across England dealt with over a million fly-tipping incidents in recent years, costing millions in clean-up costs and enforcement activity.
Coventry City Council already has a programme to enhance street cleaning teams, deploy additional CCTV cameras, and fund targeted enforcement at known hotspots. However recent national policy changes aim to give councils and partner agencies greater powers to tackle this issue. This includes the use of drones and mobile CCTV to identify vehicles and offenders as part of broader waste enforcement efforts.
The call comes from Cllr Gary Ridley; the Leader of Coventry Conservatives and he’s expected to raise it as a meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 13th January.
Commenting ahead of the meeting he said: “Fly-tipping blights our streets, parks and public spaces, costing taxpayers thousands of pounds and dragging down neighbourhoods. We welcome tougher enforcement and increased fines, but we must use every tool available to deter offenders and support enforcement teams. That’s why we’re calling on the council to create a dedicated drone capacity to locate, monitor and gather evidence on illegal dumping. Other councils have already begun to use drones with promising results and it’s time for Coventry to follow suit. By investing in drones alongside existing enforcement, we can deter would-be offenders, gather evidence more effectively, and protect our city’s environment.”
The issue will be debated by councillors at a meeting of ‘Full Council’ on Tuesday 13th January and will be streamed live here: https://coventry.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
