£7k court fine and criminal record gives fly-tipping Redbridge restaurant owner food for thought

An Ilford restaurant that dumped its commercial waste on the street leaving the local neighbourhood looking messy was successfully prosecuted for fly-tipping by Redbridge Council.

The majority of local businesses help keep the neighbourhoods they serve tidy by disposing of their commercial waste properly, so when Redbridge Enforcement Officers were alerted to reports of commercial waste being left on the street, they wasted no time investigating.

Ilford Lane based restaurant Watan, and its owner Bismillah Ullah, age 36, from Church Road, in Hayes, Middlesex, was identified as the perpetrator behind the fly-tips discovered, on Hampton Road, Ilford.

Redbridge Council’s Enforcement Team were first alerted to the fly-tipped mess following complaints from local people.

On arriving at the scene, Enforcement Officers found black bags of food waste, packaging, catering oil drums and food orders linked to the restaurant, left against a side wall of the restaurant, on the street.

Not only was the rubbish creating an eyesore in the community, it was also likely to attract vermin to the local area.

The investigation led to Ullah, and the business, being prosecuted by Redbridge Council, landing him with a criminal record, and a substantial court imposed fine.

Ullah attended the trial at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Tuesday 29 April, where he and the business were found guilty of fly-tipping charges.

Following the guilty verdicts, the company was fined and ordered to pay Court and Council costs totalling £7,150.

Redbridge Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, Cllr Khayer Chowdhury, said: “The failure to correctly store commercial waste presents a threat to the environment and public health, as well as being an eyesore for local communities. We all have a responsibility to ensure our streets and neighbourhoods are clean, and that includes businesses. Fly-tipping commercial waste on our streets is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for those who treat our borough disrespectfully, and this prosecution is testament to our commitment to holding law breakers to account for their behaviour.”

If you spot a fly-tip in the borough you can easily report it online through the council’s Report It page:  https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/report-it/

All fly tips made known to the council are recorded and investigated, with enforcement action being taken if evidence is found. The council aims to clear all recorded fly-tips on council land and the highway within 24 hours of it being reported. You can also submit evidence of perpetrators or their vehicles on the Council’s Report It page which will aid enforcement investigations.

Alternatively, use Redbridge Council’s Love Clean Streets app, to help make reporting local street scene issues even easier.  Report fly-tips, missed bin collections, potholes and more at the touch of a button. Find out more: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/report-it/love-clean-streets/