Scottish government to remove fly-tipping landowner liability
© Tim Scrivener The Scottish government has agreed to remove liability from “innocent” landowners for clearing unwanted fly-tipped waste from private land.
Murdo Fraser, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, says he is “delighted” that four key points in his members’ bill on fly-tipping have been incorporated into the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill.
Mr Fraser has spent two years working on his members’ bill on fly-tipping, but he has now managed to incorporate all four key elements of it into the Scottish government’s Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, including increasing fixed penalty notices up to £1,000.
See also: What to do if you’re a victim of… fly-tipping
Gillian Martin, Scottish government minister for climate action, told Mr Fraser that one amendment he put forward will finally remove responsibility on the landowner for the illegal dumping of waste on private farmland.
The amendment, which is set to be voted on in Scottish Parliament this week, will now see a local authority or waste regulation authority only imposing notice on a landowner to clear up fly-tipping on their land if the authority concerned is “satisfied” that the occupier either “deposited the waste or knowingly caused or knowingly permitted the deposit of the waste on their land”.
Mr Fraser said: “I am delighted that the Scottish government has agreed to remove liability for the removal of fly-tipping on the innocent landowner.
“This is a significant move. My amendment on removing strict liability on landowners had the backing of NFU Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates.
“This was an injustice that needed rectified and I now hope these amendments will be passed by the Scottish Parliament.”
Epidemic levels
Farming organisations including the NFU, the Country and Land Association (CLA) and the Countryside Alliance have been lobbying the Westminster government for years to introduce similar legislation in England and Wales, where fly-tipping on farms remains at epidemic levels.
The CLA estimates private landowners pay, on average, £1,000 to clear fly-tipped waste from their land.
In some cases, they have paid up to £100,000 to clear up other people’s mess or risk facing prosecution themselves.
Farm leaders hope the updating of fly-tipping rules by the Scottish government will force the Westminster government to act.