Shared bins for thousands (From The Argus)
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Shared bins for thousands
9:39am Wednesday 13th August 2008 in
Controversial communal bins are planned to be introduced across central Brighton and Hove – even in roads where residents have opposed them.
Only seafront Regency squares – such as Brunswick Square and Lewes Crescent – are to be exempt from the scheme, The Argus can reveal.
A recommendation to put more than 500 massive bins is to go to Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet next month.
The move will affect 185,000 residents between Davigdor Road and the seafront and from Sackville Road in Hove to Boundary Road in Kemp Town.
Last September the council delayed its plans after objections. It agreed to consult residents on the scheme, which will spell the end for doorstep bin collections.
This ended in February 2008 and residents have since been awaiting the results.
The council refused to discuss the conclusions of the consultation.
But it said that 60% of residents voted in favour of the move.
But information seen by The Argus also reveals dozens of roads which do not want the huge containers are likely to see them in their streets.
In 2004, the council carried out a trial of the containers in 24 roads, leading to almost unanimous support.
The scheme will cost £675,000 but the council projects it will save £970,000 by 2015.
The bins are also expected to take up more than 140 roadside parking spaces.
Councillor Gill Mitchell, leader of the council’s Labour group, said: “I think the council should be reporting back to residents to tell them the outcome of the consultation before the decision is taken.”
Opponents also say the communal bins will have an impact on recycling as people will be no longer be personally accountable for the contents of their rubbish.
Green councillor Jason Kitcat, whose Regency ward is part of the plan, said: “Anyone off the seafront is not being given the option to opt out and some of those streets which are against the communal bins are beautiful. These bins are not attractive.”
If the scheme is approved, it is expected to be in place by next summer.
Do communual bins clean up streets or are they an eyesore? Tell us below.
Comments(17)
blockhead
says...
11:45am Wed 13 Aug 08
plus this scheme promotes the dumping of commercial waste, which occurs in the areas these bins currently exist,
any savings will counteracted by the increased landfill cost from lack of recycling and commercial dumping,
Tony Davenport
says...
12:27pm Wed 13 Aug 08
Not only do communal bins discourage recycling (even Councillor Gill Mitchell admitted so at a public meeting) and encourage daily fly-tipping, but they are divisive - they set neighbours against one another. Take the Powis Square example. There were two communal bins, requested by a few residents of the square, destined for this location during the 'trial' but ... oh dear ... that would have ruined those same residents' views from their bow-fronted windows overlooking the green. The solution? Use your local Labour party links to have them shoved in front of someone else's house down on Powis Road at the end of Powis Square. Out of sight, out of mind. When two more were requested? Simple ... have them sited in front of the windows of an elderly man dying of cancer at the top of Powis Square, despite his protestations.
It's very interesting to me to see Councillor Geoffrey Theobald singing communal bins praises in the Argus - of course he would never have to suffer them outside his palatial property in Dyke Road. And Gill Mitchell talking about consultation? What a joke! It was her and her party, along with a gaggle of her oddball councillors in East Brighton who all sat on the Environment Committee, who forced the 'trial' on residents in the first place with NO consultation.
Hypocrites, all.
Tony Davenport
MrBrighton
says...
1:32pm Wed 13 Aug 08
If you want to register an objection to communal bins in your street - contact the members of the Environment Comittee that made this decision ...
Geoffrey Theobald (geoffrey.theobald@b
righton-hove.gov.uk)
Pat Drake (pat.drake@brighton-
hove.gov.uk)
Ian Davey (ian.davey@brighton-
hove.gov.uk)
Melanies Davis (melanie.davis@brigh
ton-hove.gov.uk)
Tony Janio (tony.janio@brighton
-hove.gov.uk)
Gill Mitchell (gill.mitchell@brigh
ton-hove.gov.uk)
Ken Norman (ken.norman@brighton
-hove.gov.uk)
Gary Pelzer-Dunn (gary.pelzer-dunn@br
ighton-hove.gov.uk)
Sven Rufus (sven.rufus@brighton
-hove.gov.uk)
Craig Turton (craig.turton@bright
on-hove.gov.uk)
Georgia Wrighton (georgia.wrighton@br
ighton-hove.gov.uk)
NoWay
says...
1:40pm Wed 13 Aug 08
blockhead wrote:Firstly, no commercial waste gets dumped round where I live, and we have these bins.
where will the savings come from? oh yes, putting binmen out of work, cos only 1 person is needed to operate the vehicles that collect the communal bins,
plus this scheme promotes the dumping of commercial waste, which occurs in the areas these bins currently exist,
any savings will counteracted by the increased landfill cost from lack of recycling and commercial dumping,
Secondly, they're a great idea because you don't have bin bags strewn across the street.
Thirdly, they pick up more than once a week so it's clean and safe.
Fourthly, why the hell do people always have to stand in the way of progress? GROW THE HELL UP!
disgruntledHove
says...
2:46pm Wed 13 Aug 08
Do people creep out at night and throw old carpets and chairs etc into them in the same way as people do when they see a skip in the road??
barongold
says...
2:52pm Wed 13 Aug 08
A SKIP on every street corner. I can see it now, with bags piled up alongside because it is full and the counsil will only empty it every 2 weeks.
And RATS, seagulls, foxes tearing the bags apart, the wind blowing **** and garbage into every nook and cranny.
andygunner
says...
4:34pm Wed 13 Aug 08
MrBrighton
says...
5:13pm Wed 13 Aug 08
(http://www.sudeley.
net/images/bin1.jpg)
Miss Hove
says...
5:25pm Wed 13 Aug 08
EBRA
says...
5:35pm Wed 13 Aug 08
OK they are not pretty but neither are most of the cars parked on our streets.
Dicky
says...
6:34pm Wed 13 Aug 08
I live in a street that currently has tourists photographing it - not sure that will continue.
The real scandal is the farce of consultation. This is a product of council laziness, binvelopes here do work, when people correctly use them and are motivated to use them.
I am really angry by this issue, but do agree that something needs to be done - but this one size fits all is not appropriate.
BeautifulBrighton
says...
10:25am Thu 14 Aug 08
I have lived in an area in Brighton where these bins were located and not only were they used for general tipping and overflowed reguarly, but within a few weeks they had graffiti on them and looked disgusting. How can these not look out of place in a conservation area?
In Europe, these communcal bins are located in areas, away from residential windows and doors for Health and Hygeine resons. Unlike Brighton & Hove where they are being placed directly outside the windows and front doors of residents.
The supposed consultation process was non existent. If I had not contacted City Clean to request a questionaire I would not have received one. I know of a number of residents that were not consulted over this issue and wonder how may other residents have not been consulted. This is not how Democracy is supposed to work and a council is supposed to represent the needs of EVERY resident.
Fabs
says...
10:33am Thu 14 Aug 08
What about blocks of private flats?
Come on B and H Council - give us the facts and we might even back you, but not yet, and don't ever forget that we the public pay you hansomely for your dithering.
Beanigan
says...
1:40pm Thu 14 Aug 08
I also live in a Conservation Area and the houses (mostly now flats) have basement cellars for storage of household rubbish, so there are no bin bags strewn across the street. In fact there is no other reason for introducing this scheme in our road apart from saving the council money.
If Estate Agent boards are not allowed in the street, due to being an eyesore in a Conservation Area, then why on earth are communal bins now allowed?
As I walk down Montpelier Road, the communal bins are overflowing on a regular basis (far worse than the odd bin bag). Brighton & Hove’s City Council’s website states;
“The containers will be emptied regularly to prevent them from overflowing. Where we currently have bins we do not have any problems.”
This statement is, of course, completely untrue. For my area, the current suggestion is have 2 communal bins covering 2 large roads. It goes without saying, this will never be enough. So when I have a bag of dirty nappies to place in an overflowing bin, do I now have to leave those on the street?
I came up with a long list of constructive objections for the council – surely during a consultation period, each collective objection put forward should be answered?
Steff
says...
10:48pm Thu 14 Aug 08
I agree with Beanigan that the bins on Montpelier Road are reguarly overflowing with not only general refuse, but also with items such as computers and TV's. Surely these need to be disposed of in a different, more enviromently friendly way. This situation will only get worse with the addition of more of these communal bins.
If we are not allowed to have estate agent boards in our area, how can they honestly say that the communal bins are not an eyesore.
Hypocrisy, plain and simple. Let us stick one of these eyesores outside one of the Counsillors houses that have ageed to these and see what they have to say about it!
BEN-jam
says...
10:06am Fri 15 Aug 08
Nick VR
says...
2:18pm Mon 18 Aug 08
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