Northampton town centre business prosecuted for failing to comply with waste management requirements
03 August 2026
West Northamptonshire Council has successfully prosecuted a business for repeatedly failing to comply with waste management requirements designed to keep the town centre clean and safe.
Beauty Cosmetics (Northampton) Limited located on Abington Street, Northampton, and operating as Beauty Queens Hair & Cosmetics, was found guilty in their absence at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 28 July 2026 to an offence of failing to comply with a legal notice relating to the storage of commercial waste.
The court imposed the maximum fine of £1,000, victim surcharge of £400 and ordered the business to pay the Council’s full prosecution costs of £823.59. The prosecution followed repeated breaches of the Northampton Town Centre Environmental Policy, which requires businesses to store waste containers off public land and only present them for collection during designated collection periods.
Despite receiving informal advice and guidance from WNC officers on a number of occasions, Beauty Cosmetics (Northampton) Limited continued to store a commercial waste eurobin on public land in Dychurch Lane.
To formally address the issue, WNC served a notice under Section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, requiring the business to make suitable arrangements for the storage and collection of its waste. When the business failed to comply, a Fixed Penalty Notice was issued, the business paid this but continued to breach the notice by not removing their euro bin from Dychurch Lane. A second Fixed penalty notice was issued, and this was ignored.
Subsequent inspections confirmed that the eurobin remained on public land, demonstrating ongoing non-compliance with the legal notice and prompting WNC to commence prosecution action.
Throughout the investigation and enforcement process, the business had limited engagement with WNC and failed to respond to most correspondence. The case was prosecuted by Scott Howkins from West Northamptonshire Council’s in-house Legal Services team.
Cllr Andrew Last – Cabinet Member for HR, Corporate and Regulatory Services, said: “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 attracts vermin, causes litter and encourages fly tipping, which gives a negative impression of our town centre and can deters visitors.
“This case sends a strong message to local businesses who may be tempted not to store their waste correctly. Our enforcement officers regularly patrol our town centres and breaches could result in a costly fine or formal enforcement action.”