Pay or Challenge a Fixed Penalty Notice

If you have received a Fixed penalty notice you must pay by the deadline. If you don't pay by the deadline the offence is tried at a magistrates' court you may be fined much more and receive a criminal conviction.

Pay a Fixed Penalty Notice

Pay online

Pay a FPN for an Environmental Crime Offence (such as littering or dog fouling)

When typing the reference number you will need to put the letter FPN followed by the reference number e.g. FPN12345

Challenge a Fixed Penalty Notice

There are no formal grounds of appeal against a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is because by paying a Fixed Penalty Notice, whilst not an admission of guilt, you agree that an offence has been committed and that by paying no further action will be taken by the council.

This saves time for everyone involved (including the offender) as opposed to taking the case to court. The fine is likely to be substantially lower than any fine imposed by the courts. For example the maximum penalty which can be imposed by the courts for littering is £2,500.

If you don't agree that you have committed the offence for which you received the Fixed Penalty Notice then the matter will be dealt with through formal prosecution via the courts.

Any mitigating circumstances that you wish to make us aware of can be communicated through the details given on the Fixed Penalty Notice, within 14 days.

I have limited funds and I will not be able to pay within the 14 days what can I do?

We do not accept payments by instalments. However, you can make contact via email or in writing to explain your circumstances. This will be reviewed and we may extend the time period by which you can by in full

What if there weren't any bins around?

It is not feasible for the council to put litter bins on every street, road and highway in the district as this would not be practical or affordable. Every effort is made to place bins where these are needed, generally around the highest levels of pedestrian footfall.

Dog poo once bagged can be placed in any litter bin, not only the designated dog poo bins.

Where bins are not available then it is up to you to act responsibly and carry your litter to a bin or take your litter home.

Why should I pay if there were no signs about littering or dog fouling in the area?

The council is not required to place signs in every area to tell people not to litter and inform them about the litter patrols. However, the council has put up signs in areas of high footfall warning the public that enforcement action is taking place in the area.