Fly tipping is increasing across the country. And the bills are rising.

Councils report that they dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents in 2023/4, an increase of 6% from the previous year.

On private land, the responsibility inevitably falls to the housing association landlord. They could be fined for not clearing up fly tipping quickly.

Both councils and housing associations are struggling to keep up with the demand due to resource constraints and the difficulty in identifying the perpetrators.  Most fly tipping involves household waste – but not necessarily from the residents living in the area. Often its outsiders doing the dumping.

It is a nuisance, a hazard, a public health risk and unsightly.  It results in complaints and drives dissatisfaction with the housing service and the neighbourhood.

And, it also encourages another problem – vermin. Our warming climate and plentiful food supply means we are seeing a steep rise in reports of pests, most commonly –  rats, pigeons, cockroaches and ants.

The solution relies on a range of different professionals, a co -ordinated sustained approach and close partnership working.

HQN is here to help. We’ve brought together council and housing professionals, experts and practitioners to examine the problem and the solutions. With plenty of case studies and an opportunity to network with fellow practitioners you’ll go away with ideas to implement in your neighbourhoods.

Whether you’re looking to improve operational efficiency, enhance tenant satisfaction, or strengthen your environmental impact, this event gives you the tools and inspiration to make it happen.

What will be covered:

• Good practice from estate service teams in dealing with pests
• Effective campaigns to stop fly tipping
• Practical ways to improve the design of your communal spaces to prevent problems in the first place.

Why attend?

• Gain valuable insights into effective prevention strategies
• Learn about what works for wider communication campaigns
• Explore enforcement approaches that deter fly tipping and promote compliance
• Learn community engagement techniques to build resident cooperation and awareness
• Identify practical methods to mitigate pest infestations at an early stage
• Hear from professionals who have successfully tackled these challenges in housing
• Take away actionable ideas and best practices to apply in your own workplace.

Essential for:

• Estate services teams
• Health and safety officers
• Housing managers
• Staff responsible for communal space management
• Block management staff
• Council environmental health teams.

Bobbie Hough, Associate, HQN

Bobbie is the lead HQN associate for the Estates Services Hub and the Housing Management Network as well as an expert in strategic planning and crisis communications. Bobbie is also Managing Director of Hough Bellis Communications, where he has worked with some of the UK’s most recognised brands overseeing successful mergers, high-profile media campaigns and managing crisis scenarios. He works with companies to help align communications and business strategies.

Helen Scott, Service Manager for Estates Services, Sheffield Council

Helen Scott is the Service Manager of the Estates and Environmental Services Team within Sheffield City Council’s Housing Service. With over 15 years of estate management experience, Helen’s role is primarily focused on waste management, grounds maintenance, and ensuring performance and standards across estate teams.

Jo Briggs, Neighbourhood Manager, Sheffield Council

Jo Briggs has been a Service Manager for Housing since 2010 and has managed the Central Neighbourhood Team since 2019.

Jo and her team are responsible for the neighbourhood and tenancy management of around 6500 properties, the team comprises of 78 staff, 39 of which are estates staff and cleaners. 17 of Sheffield City Council’s 24 tower blocks are within the Central area.

Nigel Deacon, Business Development Director, metroSTOR

Following 25 years’ experience in landscape and civils, Nigel has been developing external storage solutions for the social housing sector for the last decade, enabling landlords to maintain safe, clean and sustainable neighbourhoods by providing the infrastructure that residents need to for personal transport and disposal of waste. He has long been an advocate of a robust risk-reduction approach to the fire risk posed by e-mobility devices and will share some innovative approaches that landlords can use to achieve this. Most landlords will be aware that all residential buildings must have recycling and food scraps collection by April 2026, and Nigel will share some insights on how they can manage these changes more effectively using established behaviour change principles.

Niall Gallagher, Technical & Compliance Manager, British Pest Control Association

Niall joined BPCA in December 2024 from Nurture, where he was a Regional Technical Support Officer and gained his BPCA Certified Technical Inspector qualification. He’s most passionate about giving back to the industry whilst supporting members on site and at various events throughout the year.

His role at BPCA includes compiling, updating and reviewing BPCA codes of best practice and guidance documents and supporting and engaging with BPCA members to ensure they receive the appropriate levels of technical support, including from the wider technical team.

Livvy Drake, Founder and Behavioural Change Consultant, Sustainable Sidekicks

Sustainability and Behaviour Change Consultant, Livvy, brings a behavioural science approach to local authority waste and environmental challenges through: research support for projects, team training and campaign development.

9:30am Welcome and introductions

• Bobbie Hough, Associate, HQN

9:40am Pest control

• Helen Scott, Service Manager for Estates Services, Sheffield Council

• Jo Briggs, Neighbourhood Manager, Sheffield Council

Helen and Jo from Sheffield Council will share Sheffield City Council’s approach to pest control across the city and how they manage rats in particular on their estates and neighbourhoods.  They will discuss their community engagement techniques to build resident cooperation and awareness of the issues and what they can do to help.

10:10am Practical ways to improve your waste management 

• Nigel Deacon, Business Development Director, metroSTOR

Nigel will talk about some of the causes of both fly tipping and problems with pests and offer practical solutions to the problems of waste management on estates and on streets.  He will share case studies that have successfully tackled these challenges in housing.

10:40am Break

11:00am Best practice in pest control

• Niall Gallagher, Technical & Compliance Manager, British Pest Control Association

Join Niall Gallagher as he shares his expertise in public health pest control, exploring the latest trends in UK pest activity and the challenges most affecting social housing residents. Drawing on his extensive industry experience, Niall will highlight best practice approaches, tackle some of the toughest pest control issues, and provide practical tips and actionable advice to help professionals manage even the most persistent problems effectively.

11:30am Tackling fly tipping – changing behaviours and communication

• Livvy Drake, Founder and Behavioural Change Consultant, Sustainable Sidekicks

Livvy will cover solutions for resident black bag and bulky waste fly-tipping based on research conducted for Cambridge & Peterborough RECAP Waste partnership. The presentation will share how to take a behavioural science approach to developing a fly-tipping campaign.

12:25pm Closing comments

• Bobbie Hough, Associate, HQN

12:30pm Close

If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.