Rubbish mounts as bin lorries are held up by parked cars

Holkham Close, Arnold, where council bin lorries have struggled to get past parked cars.
By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter

Hundreds of homes have not had their bins emptied – because council refuse lorries have been held up by badly-parked cars.

Maggots and flies are swarming as rubbish mounts outside homes.

Now Gedling Borough Council has asked residents on roads that have missed up to six collections, to park more considerately.

The worst affected areas include Third Avenue in Carlton, Holkham Close in Arnold and Appletree Lane, Berry Hill Grove and Clifton Grove in Gedling.

Between June 7 and August 2, collections were missed – sometimes on several occasions – on more than 100 streets. They included 82 streets in Arnold, 72 in Carlton, 54 in Gedling and 26 in Netherfield.

Gedling Borough says the problem is putting a financial strain on its services as lorries return to blocked streets, to fulfill the council’s statutory duty to collect waste.

One of the streets worst affected is Holkham Close, Arnold, where locals missed a collection on July 22, July 28, July 29, and twice on August 8.

They described how they watched bin collectors struggle to drive down their street.

Jeanette Hutchinson, 58, who has lived on the street for five years, said: “Everyone around here has had a letter from the council saying how the dustbin men can’t come down here. Our dustbins are left (unemptied) two or three weeks sometimes.

“There are flies and maggots everywhere and it’s not good. A lot of people around here are elderly, so you are having to go to the recycling centres because we are not getting rubbish taken away.

“It is very inconsiderate parking – that is what is causing it.”

Susan Cartwright, 72, who has lived on the street for 10 years, added: “The dustbin men can’t get through to empty the bins. Last week they did not empty them.

“You want your black bin emptied because it starts to smell however much you wrap it up. Then people leave rubbish stacked up at the side.

“It is not just the cars (blocking the streets) it is the dustbins being left out.

“Residents should take them into their own properties rather than leave them on the back roads.

Cllr John Clarke, leader of Gedling Borough Council, believes the pandemic has caused some of the issues as more people are working at home and not needing to use their vehicles.

He said: “There are so many cars on the streets, and it has got worse during the pandemic because there are more cars at home.

“You have also got school holidays and not a lot of people have gone away. It is proving difficult for lorry drivers – they just can’t get down the street. It is causing us problems.”

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