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£100 fine if bin left on street

Adam Derbyshire
18/ 7/2007

RESIDENTS who leave their wheelie bins permanently on the pavement are set to be punished with £100 fines, it has emerged.

Town hall chiefs have drawn-up the hard-line approach following a flood of complaints over bins left on the street.

The crackdown will target those who refuse to take their bin back after it has been emptied.

To many, leaving a bin out is seen as nothing more than inconsiderate, but it makes life impossible for mums with pushchairs and people in wheelchairs who can't use the pavement.

Councillor John Haken, environmental chief, said: "It's not a widespread problem. We're talking about a few isolated incidents where bins are quite deliberately left out to cause irritation and upset to neighbours.

"The people involved have been asked to take them in after collection day, but have ignored our pleas. Consequently we have been left with no option but to get tough."

Borough bosses initially considered a zero-tolerance approach, but it was rejected over fears it may be seen as "heavy handed". In addition it was felt the ensuing court cases from people fighting the fines could prove costly.

Instead High Peak Borough Council will deal with complaints on a case-by-case basis. It hopes to eliminate any gripes made maliciously by neighbours in dispute.

Flexibility will be the key and town hall chiefs have pledged to be sympathetic to those with physical difficulties or residents with no storage facilities.

A complaint will trigger a swift enforcement procedure where an environmental officer will be dispatched to discuss the matter with the householder.

A second visit will take place 24 hours later and if nothing has been done the householder will be spoken to again.

If the bin is still there the following day, a final warning will be issued. And if that is ignored, a fixed penalty of £100 will be imposed. Anyone failing to pay will be prosecuted.

Councillor Haken added: "Out of thousands of households in Glossop, we have six or seven who are currently causing problems.

"If the enforcement procedures are rubber-stamped by the executive next week, the powers will come into force within a month. But I hope these trouble-causing residents see sense by then."