Warren Morgan: Final warning to fly-tippers

One of the priorities of my administration, as I have written in these pages before, is to get the basics right.

First and foremost within that is getting our streets clean and our refuse and recycling service up to standard. 

One of our first actions was to approve a strategy for doing just that - and within the last week we have seen new street-cleaning machines introduced. We have also begun to refurbish and replace communal refuse bins and we continue to trial ''Big Belly'' bins that compact rubbish to prevent overflowing. We will offer a refuse collection service to shops and small businesses as well.

As part of our Big Summer Clean-up, we have started cleaning our city-centre streets and pavements; a programme of community clean-up days in neighbourhoods will soon begin. We are committed to working with communities to tackle problem areas and get them to a good standard that can be maintained. We won't, despite the cuts to our funding by government, ignore our responsibility to you to keep the streets clean. But we will ask residents, visitors, and businesses to do their part.

We are a busy and crowded city, with a lot going on. 

It is easy to see a clean street littered very quickly. And once a street has rubbish in it, then people feel more comfortable about not using a litter bin themselves.

We can only encourage people not to drop litter, but we will soon be taking firm action against those who wilfully and deliberately fly-tip. I am particularly excited about bringing in a new team whose responsibility it will be to fine those that fly-tip. The cost of that team will be covered by the fines they collect.

All of us will know of cases where overnight someone pulls up in a van to dump furniture or building waste in or next to a communal bin. That is waste they will have been paid money to take away, but which they are avoiding having to pay to dispose of themselves. They expect the council to do it at a cost to all of us.

I am giving them notice that it has to stop. 

So the message is: recycle your waste, take it to one of our centres in Old Shoreham Road, Hove, or Wilson Avenue, Brighton - or dispose of it properly.

If you dump it, we will come after you and fine you. That's a promise.