​Tenant’s £734 bill after failing to pay waste fine

A Prestwich tenant’s failure to pay a fixed penalty notice for depositing waste has landed him with a bill for nearly ten times the amount.

Connor Molyneux (aged 23) of Warwick Street, Prestwich had dumped a two-seater couch and two single-seat armchairs on communal land outside his property.

His landlord Six Town Housing, which manages Bury Council’s housing stock, gave Molyneux the opportunity to make appropriate arrangements to get the furniture removed, but he failed to do so.

Following investigation by environmental health officers at the council, Molyneux agreed to pay a fixed penalty notice of £75 for the offence, but did not pay it.

He was taken to Manchester Magistrates Courts on 24 September 2019 where, in his absence, he was fined £440 and ordered to pay £250 costs and a £44 victim surcharge.

Councillor Jane Black, cabinet member for corporate affairs and HR, said: “Residents must dispose of their waste responsibly or face the consequences. This could have been avoided if the tenant had paid the council’s bulky waste removal service to take the rubbish away for a fraction of the cost.”

For details of the bulky waste collection service, see https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10823

ENDS

Press release issued: 1 October 2019.