Are bins on pavement a total red flag?

[FelixDaHouskat]

Hi, we are moving for work from pretty suburb to larger city. The houses we can afford are definitely 'up and coming' - for instance, large houses in edgy/creative place, but with no front garden, steps up to front door type of thing.

Are bins on the pavement a red flag in cities? Am I being a smalltown person to worry about them?

The street seems ok and neighbours artists/artisans/multicultural (like us), but am concerned that with small back gardens and non-existent front garden the bins on the pavement may consist of a safety hazard. Please enlighten me.

That is a lot of bins! they are an eyesore even in a front garden, years ago people had nice flowers now they just have bins. I use those bin buddy granules and they do help a bit.

to get rid of potential & actual maggots - put automatic wash powder sprinkled throughout bin - it dries the creatures up & if its scented it helps with any smell
I use automatic powder for lots of things - it kills or acts as a barrier near doors against ant too & cleans sinks

The town I live in has very few front gardens. Nearly every house has bins lined up on the pavement. It’s a nice town, not dodgy or rough. No one thinks anything of it at all. It’s just how things are.

Bins out on the street permanently get kicked over, passers by put stuff in them, and there are crazes for setting wheelie bins on fire in some towns. There will be rats anywhere where there are dirty people and litter, bins or not.

I don't see how rats are more likely because bins are on the front rather than in back yard or lane. If it's wheelie bins that's better; I lived in a terrace once where we just put bin bags out once a week and the seagulls used to shred them and perch on our cars. That was horrible.

It would bother me from a kerb appeal point of view to be honest, but if that's the only downside then it doesn't have to be a deal breaker.

You could get a nice bin store op

Red flag for what? I think you’re being disingenuous, OP. You want people to say that bins on the pavement = dodgy/undesirable neighbourhood, don’t you?

@FrancescaContini

Red flag for what? I think you’re being disingenuous, OP. You want people to say that bins on the pavement = dodgy/undesirable neighbourhood, don’t you?

Actually, no. Why would I?

I am going to spend a large sum for a house and am canvassing opinions, both doing research directly and asking people as I have not lived in a large town for a while.

The consensus of the thread seems to be that it's not aesthetically pleasing but it's not a deal breaker. I have several times in the thread thanked people that have pointed this out to me.

@Helenahandkart

The town I live in has very few front gardens. Nearly every house has bins lined up on the pavement. It’s a nice town, not dodgy or rough. No one thinks anything of it at all. It’s just how things are.

Thank you Helena, this is actually what I was hoping to hear.

@sophienelisse

You could get a nice bin store op

I thought about it, would you be allowed to keep it on the pavement, though?

@User7493268965

That is a lot of bins! they are an eyesore even in a front garden, years ago people had nice flowers now they just have bins. I use those bin buddy granules and they do help a bit.

Absolutely, I am all for recycling and 100% see the need for multiple bins but I also wish there was a solution.

It would annoy me every day to see the rubbish out the front .... but there's no solution except not to buy the house.

Rats are everywhere. I stayed in hospital accommodation once in Winchester right next to brand new 1 million pound terraces and there was a rat problem though admittedly it seemed to be nearby the dedicated outdoor bin store.

Such a non-issue. The borough I live in - terraced housing - all have bins out on the street on bin day. And then just inside the front wall the rest of the week. The odd person passing puts rubbish in but why would that bother me? Better than throwing it on the street. Also we have our rubbish collected every Monday - even on Bank Holidays. My parents live rurally and have their rubbish collected once a fortnight.

I don't know - I come from a small town and I would not care for many many bins on the pavement outside my house. However I also really hate houses that open straight to the street so i wouldn't be looking st this house anyway.

Therefor, from a resale perspective, it's not just the bins that would deter me from buying your property when you resell it. I imagine if you don't have an issue with this style, you probably will expect the bin thing?

PS - the front door onto the pavement thing is just me - I don't like the outside dirt coming so easily into the house or people walking so closely past the sitting room when I am in it. I would think there would be a lot of people who overlook that and it wouldn't affect resell at all, especially in a lovely house with lovely neighbourhood.

In Wandsworth they would be fined for leaving them out on the pavement unless bin day.

Tbh if it’s standard practice I’m assuming it’s allowed by council. Only place I’ve seen it is Exeter though. Problem there is half the houses were filled with students and their rubbish was a mess. Caveat I was visiting student dd at the time so those are the areas we were walking through

I don’t see why rats would be more attracted to bins on a pavement than on a driveway or in a flimsy bin store tbh.

Bins on the pavement are not pretty. But the norm where houses open directly on to the street.

You can either live with that or you can’t.

Can you live without the other trappings of suburban life? A drive / garage / off street parking / rear access to garden etc if these things are also missing?

Bins are an eyesore, especially if they're overflowing by collection day. Not having space to store them inside a bin shelter/tuck them away down a side return is a hazard of terraced streets without front gardens. I moved out of the postcode I was living in when upsizing because the housing stock mostly comprised Victorian terraces, no proper front (just steps and a tiny yard) and the otherwise nice streets had bins permanently out on the pavement. It doesn't bother some, obviously, but it does me so I moved one postcode over in order to be able to buy a semi-detached with sizeable front gardens and side returns.

Our street has this, the layout of the houses means that there is nowhere else to put them. We have big wheely bins from the council and a weekly collection so it is usually OK, except when a collection gets missed for some reason. Our pavements are wide enough to get past with a buggy too. It's a nice neighborhood (in my opinion!).

My concern would be passers-by putting things in the bins. Around here the council would fine you for things in the wrong bin even if someone else put it there.

Readers, we bought it! Thank you all for your thoughts on this.