Great Yarmouth Borough Council's cabinet considers plan for taskforce to tackle anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping

The proposals include a dedicated team of staff, including additional police officers, to tackle anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, deal with problem properties, keep streets clean and tidy and work with residents to improve levels of recycling.

Councillor Paul Wells, GYBC's portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability, Licensing and Waste said: ''The council is committed to improving the look and feel of the town. The recently introduced powers to more effectively deal with anti-social behaviour are making a real difference, but we need to do more.

''We are determined to work hard to create a pride in our borough and make Great Yarmouth an attractive and prosperous place to live. This taskforce would mean we can ramp up action that everyone wants to see and provides dedicated resources to make sure we have the clean town centre people deserve.''

The taskforce would cost £1.15m over three years, with final proposals to be approved by Great Yarmouth Town Board. The Government will now need to agree grant funding for the project, which follows a major council survey that showed key priorities for residents include feeling safe and concerns around fly-tipping, street cleaning and anti-social behaviour.

If agreed at a meeting next week the plan would include a team of new enforcement/education officers, dedicated police officers and new street cleansing operatives to target the town centre, the area behind the seafront and then spread out over time.

Education around recycling and waste disposal would form a key part of the work in Great Yarmouth, where fly-tipping costs the borough's council taxpayers £180,000 every year.

Officers say they would also focus on overflowing rubbish bins in communal areas, where shared bins and increased litter are often targeted by gulls. There will also be a crackdown on the way town centre bins are misused - often filled with illegal trade and household waste.

The taskforce would also target empty and unkempt properties. Officers say these can attract anti-social behaviour, arson and other crime.

Councillor Wells said: ''High-profile anti-social behaviour and crime in the town centre has an impact on our residents and visitors. Three new police officers will give us the ability to increase patrols to deal with street drinking, begging and other behaviour that affects the public. This new resource will help us make a real difference to people's quality of life.

''The minority of people who fly-tip and carry out other illegal activities will be held accountable for their actions. We also want to work with the owners of problem properties - encouraging them to take action - but where they are unwilling to co-operate we will take appropriate enforcement action.''

As part of its ongoing strategy to improve the town, the council has already reviewed the way grass cutting, grounds maintenance, weed spraying, emptying of litter bins and litter picking is carried out in the borough. It also has proposals for a new selective licensing scheme aimed at improving the standard of rented properties parts of Great Yarmouth.

The new borough-wide Public Spaces Protection Order targeting anti-social behaviour was introduced in the spring and has seen more than 25 fixed penalty notices being served and several successful prosecutions.

Recent waste and fly-tipping 'hot spot' campaigns in Cobholm and the Barracks estate have also resulted in significant improvements with the aim of increasing the pride residents feel in their communities.