Working more collaboratively with businesses as part of enforcement review

We're proposing changes to the way we carry out environmental enforcement, following feedback from local businesses.

Businesses have told us that enforcement action can sometimes feel overly punitive, with fines issued too quickly and at levels that do not always reflect minor, one-off offences. In response, we've carried out a comprehensive review of the service and are now remodelling and refocussing our approach.

The proposed changes will move the focus away from fines and towards prevention. Clearer advice and better guidance would be provided to help businesses understand their legal responsibilities and avoid common issues that can lead to enforcement action.

The hope is that this will reduce the number of offences for which Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) are currently issued. However, enforcement will remain an option where businesses have not put appropriate measures in place.

We will focus on the worst and most persistent offenders who cause the greatest harm to the city’s environment. As part of this, the council would expand our use of CCTV to help identify and investigate serious offences.

The review also proposes making penalties more proportionate to better reflect the scale of the offence.

The new approach is being discussed at Cabinet on 19 March.

If approved, a key change would be the introduction of lower tier FPN for minor offences from 1 April 2026.

At present, fines of £600 have been issued for very small amounts of waste. Under the new approach there will be 2 lowers tiers. A single small item could result in a £300 fine, while 1 or 2 sacks (or loose equivalent) could result in a £400 fine.

Higher fines will remain in place and unchanged for serious cases, which may still be pursued through the courts for the worst offenders.

The council will also continue to offer a 50 per cent discount for early payment of some fines, helping to reduce barriers to payment and improve fairness.

Alongside these changes, we'll also introduce environmental compliance surgeries for businesses. These sessions would provide practical advice on legal responsibilities, helping businesses avoid common pitfalls that lead to enforcement action wherever possible. They would also offer an opportunity for businesses to raise concerns and share feedback.

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environmental Services said: “Brighton & Hove has an incredible variety of small independent businesses, and we want to support them however we can.

"We’ve listened to the feedback we’ve received on how the council carries out enforcement, and we are now proposing a new approach that moves away from issuing fines in favour of more support and better guidance.

“We also want to adopt a more proportionate approach when enforcement is required.

“We’re proposing the introduction of a lower fine for minor offences, alongside a more robust and intelligence-led approach to prolific and genuine offenders. Expanding our use of CCTV will also help us focus more on the offences that have a bigger impact.

“Introducing surgeries for businesses will not only help us to provide clearer advice but will also be an additional opportunity for us to listen to their concerns and identify ways we can better support them.”