Northampton café fined £1,000 for commercial waste failures
Northampton Magistrates' Court set the penalty for storage breaches
Caffe D’Italia has been fined £1,000 for failing to adhere to commercial waste storage regulations in Northampton town centre.
West Northamptonshire Council prosecuted the café at Northampton Magistrates' Court on 14th July 2026 after repeated non-compliance with waste management notices.
The court issued the maximum fine, alongside a victim surcharge of £400, and ordered the café to pay £1,190.42 towards the Council’s prosecution costs.
The action followed the business’s continuous violation of the Northampton Town Centre Environmental Policy, which requires businesses to store waste containers off public land and to present them only during designated collection periods.
Despite multiple advisories from council officers, Caffe D’Italia persisted in keeping a eurobin on public land in Dychurch Lane, leading to formal enforcement under Section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
A Fixed Penalty Notice was initially served when compliance was not achieved, and subsequent operations confirmed the ongoing issue. This led to the council's legal team taking prosecution measures.
In an effort to resolve the matter, the council attempted contact several times, though the café did not engage throughout the legal process.
Councillor Andrew Last commented: "All businesses have a duty to store their commercial waste properly in line with the requirements of the Town Centre Policy. Waste that is not stored correctly is detrimental to our town centre. Not only does it attract vermin, cause litter and encourage fly tipping, but it also creates obstructions for town centre users and looks unsightly.
“We are working towards creating a cleaner, greener and safer town centre to attract more visitors, but we can’t do this alone - it requires all our local businesses and residents to play their part. When breaches occur, we will always try to work with local businesses to educate and support them to make the required changes, but if this fails, we will move to formal enforcement action.”