Fly-tipping in Cheltenham council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
1,205 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Cheltenham in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 9.9 for every 1,000 residents. That is lower than the rate across the councils in England that also count all incidents (21.1) and close to the rate for those in the South West (9.8). The council reported no enforcement actions for the year.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Cheltenham at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Cheltenham
- What was fly-tipped in Cheltenham
- How big the fly-tips were in Cheltenham
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Cheltenham
- Fly-tipping in Cheltenham since 2019/20
- Fly-tipping in South West councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Cheltenham
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Cheltenham had the 109th lowest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 24 ranked councils in the South West, it had the 11th highest rate. The count was down 20% on 2023/24 (1,502), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Cheltenham | South West (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 1,205 | 51,229 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 9.9 | 9.8 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 44% | 54% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 0 | 841 | 38,558 |
The region and England columns add up the 25 councils in the South West and the 269 councils in England that count all incidents.
Highways accounted for the most incidents in Cheltenham: 531, or 44% (England 33%). 20 were on private or residential land (1.7%; England 1.1%). Compared with England, a larger share was on council land (42.4% against 18.4%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway | 531 | 44.1% | 33.4% |
| Council land | 511 | 42.4% | 18.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 103 | 8.5% | 20.7% |
| Private or residential land | 20 | 1.7% | 1.1% |
| Back alleyway | 17 | 1.4% | 9.0% |
| Other or not identified | 13 | 1.1% | 16.2% |
| Watercourse or bank | 7 | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Agricultural land | 2 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 1 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Railway | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 785 incidents (65%; England 44%). Relative to England, Cheltenham had a larger share of other commercial waste (5.0% against 2.9%). Hazardous waste: 3 incidents involved clinical waste and 13 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 785 | 65.1% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (household) | 176 | 14.6% | 17.2% |
| Other commercial waste | 60 | 5.0% | 2.9% |
| White goods | 56 | 4.6% | 4.7% |
| Other or not identified | 54 | 4.5% | 15.9% |
| Green waste | 21 | 1.7% | 2.9% |
| Other electrical items | 16 | 1.3% | 1.7% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 13 | 1.1% | 0.5% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 9 | 0.7% | 2.4% |
| Tyres | 7 | 0.6% | 1.1% |
| Clinical waste | 3 | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Vehicle parts | 3 | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 2 | 0.2% | 5.5% |
35% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 65% were van loads (England 43%). None was recorded as a tipper lorry load or larger (England 3.7%).
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 184 | 15.4% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 36 | 3.0% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 199 | 16.7% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 657 | 55.0% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 119 | 10.0% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 0 | 0.0% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 0 | 0.0% | 1.3% |
Cheltenham reported no enforcement actions against fly-tipping for 2024/25. Defra notes that a few councils' action returns are missing each year, so this can mean that no return was made rather than that no action was taken. Across the 265 councils in England that count all incidents and returned actions for the full year, there were 42.1 actions for every 100 incidents.
The chart shows fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 residents in Cheltenham in each year from 2019/20 to 2024/25, with Defra's England total. The rate was below the England total's in every one of those 6 years. It starts in 2019/20, the first year for which Defra records how each council counts incidents.
| Year | Incidents | Per 1,000 residents | England per 1,000 (Defra total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 1,205 | 9.9 | 21.5 |
| 2023/24 | 1,502 | 12.4 | 19.9 |
| 2022/23 | 1,292 | 10.8 | 19.0 |
| 2021/22 | 854 | 7.2 | 19.3 |
| 2020/21 | 453 | 3.9 | 20.1 |
| 2019/20 | 246 | 2.1 | 17.4 |
Of the 24 councils in the South West ranked for 2024/25, Bristol had the highest rate (20.8 per 1,000) and East Devon the lowest (2.5). Exeter, Isles of Scilly and Wiltshire are listed but not ranked: ranks cover only councils that count all incidents, with 100 or more in the year.
| Council | Incidents | Per 1,000 | Actions per 100 incidents | Rank in region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 10,266 | 20.8 | 21.9 | 1st of 24 |
| Plymouth | 5,370 | 19.7 | 25.2 | 2nd of 24 |
| Swindon | 3,759 | 15.4 | 17.5 | 3rd of 24 |
| Forest of Dean | 1,305 | 14.5 | 5.1 | 4th of 24 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 4,966 | 12.1 | 1.4 | 5th of 24 |
| Torbay | 1,556 | 11.1 | 3.7 | 6th of 24 |
| Gloucester | 1,531 | 11.0 | 54.9 | 7th of 24 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 2,057 | 10.3 | 12.9 | 8th of 24 |
| Cotswold | 922 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 9th of 24 |
| North Somerset | 2,226 | 9.9 | 3.2 | 10th of 24 |
| Cheltenham | 1,205 | 9.9 | – | 11th of 24 |
| Stroud | 1,232 | 9.8 | 19.4 | 12th of 24 |
| Teignbridge | 1,051 | 7.6 | 40.6 | 13th of 24 |
| South Hams | 662 | 7.2 | 83.8 | 14th of 24 |
| South Gloucestershire | 2,189 | 7.1 | 27.0 | 15th of 24 |
| Tewkesbury | 695 | 6.8 | 12.9 | 16th of 24 |
| Cornwall | 3,931 | 6.7 | 37.0 | 17th of 24 |
| West Devon | 339 | 5.8 | 78.5 | 18th of 24 |
| Mid Devon | 488 | 5.7 | 13.7 | 19th of 24 |
| North Devon | 574 | 5.7 | 71.3 | 20th of 24 |
| Somerset | 2,830 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 21st of 24 |
| Torridge | 270 | 3.9 | 50.7 | 22nd of 24 |
| Dorset | 1,410 | 3.6 | 82.0 | 23rd of 24 |
| East Devon | 395 | 2.5 | 87.3 | 24th of 24 |
| Exeter | 1,115 | 8.1 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Isles of Scilly | 0 | 0.0 | – | Not ranked: too few incidents |
| Wiltshire | 3,005 | 5.7 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Cheltenham in 2024/25?
1,205 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 9.9 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 1,502.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Cheltenham?
Cheltenham council did not report its fixed penalty amount to Defra for 2024/25; councils set it between £150 and £1,000. It reported no enforcement actions for 2024/25.
Where does fly-tipping happen in Cheltenham?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on highways (531, 44%), council land (511, 42%) and footpaths and bridleways (103, 9%).
What gets fly-tipped in Cheltenham?
Other household waste (785), black bags (household) (176) and other commercial waste (60) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Cheltenham going up?
The count fell from 1,502 in 2023/24 to 1,205 in 2024/25. Recording practice varies between councils and over time, so part of a change can come from how incidents are counted.
How do I report fly-tipping in Cheltenham?
Report it to the council for Cheltenham, which clears fly-tipping on public land and investigates it. Large-scale or hazardous dumping can also be reported to the Environment Agency.
Source: Defra, fly-tipping statistics for England, local authority table (published 25 February 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. What is counted, and how councils differ: fly-tipping in England.