Neighbours' Wheelie Bins

[chocolateyy]

Hi, hoping for some advice.

I live on a very narrow dead-end street, with car-parking on one side & a pavement on the other.

All of the houses on my street are on one side (the one with the pavement)

With all of the cars parked on one side, there is not enough room for a Fire Engine to get down the street without mounting the pavement on the other side.

However, at one end of the street all of my neighbours leave their bins permanently on the street (there are 5 blocks of flats & 50 bins on the pavement outside), meaning that the street not only looks terrible & can be smelly (esp in Summer), but a Fire Engine cannot get down the street to get to my home. I keep my bins in my garden.

I have been raising this with the council for over 2 years, who have now said that they do not feel they can ask the neighbours to take their bins in to their (sizeable) gardens, as there is 2 flights of stairs (each flight is 7 stairs), and so they are happy that these bins will be stored on the pavement permanently.

They have said they have spoken with the Fire Service who have said that there is enough space (there isn't, I've measured it!) and even if there wasn't they would just push the bins out the way to give access to a Fire Engine (but there are 50 bins, and 6 foot hedges behind them, so I have no idea where they could possibly be pushed to)

I have advised the council that I feel there are in breach of the Equalities Act (ie discriminating against blind people who cannot use the pavement), and in breach of the Environmental Act because they are not keeping the highways & pavements clear, but they are not prepared to budge.

They are not prepared to issue sacks because they feel this would be messy, they have said the other option is to put large communal bins, but that this would mean no parking & they know the community wouldn't accept this.

My neighbour was unable to sell his house because the bins are such an eyesore that viewers said they wouldn't put in an offer!

I'm at my wits end, I don't know how to resolve this. Only myself & another neighbour have complained & obviously I don't want to ostracise myself from my neighbours, but I'm just a bit lost now.

Does anyone have any advice as to my next course of action?

I'm sorry but you sound far too invested in this.

If your issue is due to fire engine access, yet the council and the fire brigade are happy, then surely that's enough? Problem solved?

I know, as I was writing it down, I did think that I needed to find another hobby!

But, currently, if (God forbid) my house was on fire, there is no way a Fire Engine could get to it, there is just physically enough room.

Don't set your house on fire

Seriously a fire engine will just plough through bins and throw them down the street to get to you

Fire engine v wheelie bins is no contest. Plus they tend to stop the engines away from the blaze & run the hoses for safety.

Thanks, you've put my mind at rest a bit!

you sound like you're expecting a fire!!

Just out of interest, which council department did you speak to? If it was the waste management department, you need to instead speak to Roads / Planning. They have more power. I seem to recall there is new planning legislation coming in that will force people to keep their bins on their own property between collections.

If a refuse truck can get down your street, a fire engine will too!

It's not a planning matter - you need to speak to highways.
Have you contacted your local Councillor? Ask them to come and have a look at the situation.
Have you spoken directly to the fire service - ask them to come and look. Honestly if they are saying they are happy with the situation, I really wouldn't think there is a problem.

Definitely a fire engine will plough through the bins. They would just go flying. I don't think a lot of people are aware that fire engines will do this, especially seeing as if you park atrociously they will shunt your car away and you will be liable for any damage caused. If they will do this with a car, bins would be no problem.

Given that the fire brigade have said there isn't an issue, I'd drop that as a complaint. They know much better than you. Your real issue is the way they look. Is there any option for hiding them?

Thanks for your replies.

No, the bin lorry can't get down the street either, a man from the council comes along & wheels them to the end of the street & they're collected from there.

I had raised the issue a few years ago when we were issued with 4 bins per house, but Waste Management at Council advised at that time that although they agreed it was an issue they couldn't force people to remove their bins. When the new legislation came out, I went back to them & they've given me the new update.

I've asked the Fire Service to come round to discuss it with me, and I've sent a copy of correspondence to my local councillor

I'll speak with Highways if I get no joy.

Thanks again