The Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss fly-tipping and enforcement, crime and disorder, and a co-optee nomination. The committee will also receive updates from Councillor Stephen Button, Chair of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and review the minutes from their last meeting. Some of the information relating to the co-optee nomination is considered exempt and will be discussed in a closed session.

Crime and Disorder and the Community Safety Partnership

The Head of Policy and Organisational Development is scheduled to provide an update to the committee on crime and disorder and community safety.

The update is expected to include a review of the work of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and suggestions for areas of improvement. Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) are required by law to work together to reduce crime and disorder in their area¹.

The report pack includes several appendices:

• The Hyndburn & Pennine CSP Structures 2024-25
• The Hyndburn District Profile 2025
• The Lancashire Strategic Assessment 2025-28

The Lancashire Strategic Assessment 2025-28 identifies the key risks and threats impacting across the county as:

• Domestic abuse
• Violence against Women and Girls
• Serious violence (includes gun and gang crime, and knife crime)
• Exploitation criminal and sexual
• Organised Crime
• Road safety
• Anti-Social Behaviour
• Cyber crime

The Hyndburn District Profile 2025 notes that Hyndburn had the fourth highest rate of all crime per 1,000 population across the county in 2024, and has rates higher than the Lancashire average for robbery, vehicle crime, and violent crime.

The report pack notes several ongoing projects and operations, including:

• Op Centurion: Home Office funded overtime foot patrols with a focus on working with partners in Central Ward.
• Beat Sweeps: A recurrent multi-agency operation, themed around environmental problems.
• Op Vanquish: Partnership work with DVSA² & Supported Development Unit (SDU).
• Op Rally: Sees mounted officers, student officers on foot and roadside checks with partners.
• Bin the Banger: Tackling untaxed vehicles on the road.
• Op Vulture: Tackling shop-lifting and crime against retail workers.
• Safer Streets Summer: Aims at tackling antisocial behaviour and boosting safety across town centres and high streets.
• Operation Warrior: Lancashire Police's response to combat serious violence and organised crime in the county.

The committee will also receive information about the Serious Violence Duty, which has been in force since January 2023, and the Domestic Homicide Reviews that have been completed in the last year.

The report pack also details a number of projects that have received funding via the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), including:

• Accrington Stanley Community Trust Redz Football
• Hyndburn Borough Council – Mobile Scrap Metal Collectors/Waste Carriers and Compliance
• Emily Davidson Centre – Recovery Support via Group Work Programmes for Trans & Non-Binary People Experiencing Domestic Abuse
• Masjid & Madrassa Islamia – Children Engagement and Reduction in Anti-Social Behaviour in the Area
• The JJ Effect (Anti Knife-Crime presentations)
• Pan Lancashire- Every Action Has Consequences: Adam's Story

The committee will also be informed of the results of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) survey in Accrington Town Centre. PSPOs are intended to deal with nuisance behaviour in a defined area³.

Fly Tipping and Enforcement

The committee are scheduled to discuss reports on the council's strategies for dealing with fly-tipping and enforcement. The reports have been submitted by the Head of Environmental Health (Environmental Health) and the Head of Environmental Services (Waste Services).

The Environmental Health report notes that the Environmental Protection team are responsible for the investigation of fly tipping on private land. The report estimates that the cost of providing this service is £82,092 per annum. The report notes that the landowner is responsible for the removal of any accumulation of waste fly tipped on their land. Officers will investigate to find the landowner and engage with them to ensure the waste is removed at their cost. If the landowner cannot be traced, the council would look to remove the waste and take on associated costs, if the waste is putrescible⁴ in nature and therefore posed a public health issue.

The Waste Services report notes that the council's waste services team provides a variety of services to the residents of Hyndburn, including waste collection from domestic and commercial premises, bulky waste collections, and skip days for the local community.

The report notes that enforcement officers within waste services are out on a daily basis working alongside refuse and recycling crews, and follow up any issues of side waste they come across using S46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to take enforcement action. The enforcement action taken in relation to side waste is a three stage process, with officers giving residents a S46 notice, followed by a warning letter, and then a fixed penalty notice (FPN).

The report also notes that enforcement officers follow up reports of fly-tipping to initially check the scale of the fly-tipping incident and see if any evidence can be found. Once enforcement officers have examined the fly-tipped waste they will then arrange for the waste to be cleared away.

Chair's Update

Councillor Stephen Button, Chair of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, is scheduled to provide updates on:

• The Draft Climate Strategy & Action Plan
• Allotments Update
• Co-optee Vacancy

The minutes from the last meeting on 14th July 2025 ⁵ include a discussion of the Draft Climate Strategy & Action Plan, during which the Policy Manager informed the Committee that Hyndburn Council had set aside a £1m climate reserve pot to help to achieve Hyndburn's target to make the Council's activities net zero carbon by 2030.

The minutes also include a discussion of a review of allotments, during which the Regeneration Project Manager explained that Hyndburn had 24.5 allotment plots per 1,000 households – 22% greater than required.

Co-optee Nomination

The Committee are requested to give consideration to the attached report for the vacant Co-optee position, and make a recommendation to Full Council. This item is expected to be discussed after the exclusion of the public, as it contains exempt information under the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, Paragraph 1 – Information relating to an individual.