Council chiefs will review the success of a pilot scheme to clean up Weymouth.

The 3GS Environment Enforcement Project will be put under the spotlight this evening at a Weymouth and Portland Borough Council scrutiny and performance meeting.

Private firm, 3GS UK Ltd, was appointed to undertake a 12-month pilot project in February, in a bid to keep Weymouth’s streets cleaner and reduce anti-social behaviour. 

Since the introduction of the project, 3GS uniformed officers have been patrolling the town centre and surrounding areas issuing fixed penalty fines for offences, including dog fouling and littering, on behalf of the council.

Rather than the council paying for the service, the philosophy of the project is that income from fixed penalty notices will meet the costs of providing the service. 

A report says that officers have been subject to abuse from the public and some people have felt anxious when approached by 3GS officers. 

However, the report also discussed how officers have been praised by members of the public, businesses and other service providers for their work and approach to what is a difficult job.

A total of 554 fixed penalty fines have been issued by officers between February and mid-October with around 81% of fines given for littering cigarettes. 

The report adds that officers have witnessed a number of dog offences, including dogs off their leads in exclusion zones on The Esplanade.

Despite the large number of fines issued, only 73% were paid at either the discounted or full fine level, however, instances of non-payments are being considered for prosecution.

The report also explains that a total of 48 appeals/complaints have been made against 3GS during the pilot period. These include instances where the complainant was unaware they were making an offence or there was no proof of the offence.

The committee will be asked to consider recommendations to continue the pilot project after the 12-month period.

According to the report, the council has insufficient in-house resources to replicate what 3GS do and their high profile and visibility is important for raising awareness and changing people’s behaviour. 

Statistics from Dorset Waste Partnership show that there has been a 25% reduction in daytime littering since the project was piloted.