Councils could be given the power to issue fines for climbing trees (Image: Getty)
New proposals could soon see local councils given the right to issue on-the-spot fines for minor offences such as climbing trees in the park.
The new changes come as part of White Paper on English devolution, which would increase councils’ powers, allowing them to hand out fixed penalty notices instead of taking people to court.
The government’s White Paper argued that the centuries-old process for making by-laws is outdated for modern government and that “local leaders are best placed to understand and respond to these issues.”
It also said it was unreasonable for the to approve councils’ rules on “where people can ride bikes or climb trees in parks.”
At present, councils require permission from government ministers to implement local by-laws, but that will be changed under the new proposal. There are some fines that can be issued at the moment, including littering, bin offences, fly-tipping, truancy, , and traffic violations.
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However, the move toward increased power is being met with criticism as people claim that councils could abuse their powers and use them as a way to generate additional funds.
On-the-spot fines can range between £50 and £100, and last year, it was reported that councils collected £620 million from parking fines alone.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow local government secretary, said: “The government will leave no stone unturned in their mission to pick people’s pockets.
“These proposals also raise serious concerns about civil liberties by opening the door to allowing over-zealous town hall officials to ban lawful innocent activities in public places such as vaping, walking a dog or going on an organised group run. The justice system should not be hijacked to line the taxman’s pockets.”
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Angela Rayner’s white paper will give councils more power (Image: Getty)
Along with climbing trees, other on-the-spot fines that could be introduced include ones for playing music or ball games in the market, metal detecting, unhealthy food vans, smoking in the street, and flying model aircraft.
The had previously refused similar proposals during the coalition government because of concerns that the local councils would use the rules to generate income.
In 2023, two councils – Torfaen in Wales and Rugby were criticised for introducing tree-climbing bans in protected spaces but based on the council by-laws currently present across the country, we could see even more fines for things such as walking more than one dog at a time.
A government spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We will work with councils to review whether they should be able to enforce by-law via fixed penalty notices to improve effectiveness.”