Fly-tipping fines could increase to up to one thousand pounds in Wokingham as the council looks to double down on those disposing their waste illegally.

Wokingham Borough Council are proposing to raise various licence fees and charges next year, with the largest increase set for illegal fly-tippers.

Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of litter on land or in water to usually avoid disposal costs and is currently punished by a fixed penalty notice of £400.

But this could rise by up to £600 under new council plans for a 'sliding scale' system.

Council officers would choose how much to fine fly-tippers ‘dependent on severity of offence’, at either £500, £750 or £1,000.

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A council report ahead of the Licensing and Appeals Committee on Wednesday, November 13 says that the change would ‘reinforce environmental crime deterrence through structured, severity-based penalties’.

It comes as Wokingham was ranked as the worst fly-tipping hotspot in Berkshire between 2022 to 2023.

A total of 1,691 reported incidents took place from 2022 to 2023, and 1,808 were reported the year before.

If approved by Wokingham Borough Councillors, the fine would be one of the largest issued out across Berkshire.

Charges are set at £400 in Reading, Bracknell and West Berkshire, but go up to £1,000 in Slough.

Slough Borough Council increased it’s fly-tipping fine in April this year to act as a deterrent. A fine of £1,000 would be halved to £500 if repaid within ten days.

Other licensable fees including taxicab drivers and those looking to set up a street trading business could rise by five per cent.

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This is in line with the amount of money it costs to administer the service.

The report says the council ‘has faced considerable challenging cost increases in recent years’, with licensing fees already increasing by around ten per cent in 2023 to 2024 and by a further six per cent in 2024 to 2025.

Fees could increase from £339 to £356 for those looking to get or renew their Hackney Carriage Vehicle licence.

Annual fees paid by street traders could go up from £1,609 to £1,690.

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This would remain lower than fees in Windsor and Maidenhead which charges £3,000 and Reading which charges £2,421 per year.

If given the go-ahead, new fees and charges will be implemented in April 2025.