The decision from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman was handed down in April but published by the body last week.
Dispute
The dispute arose over waste collections from a cul-de-sac, the entrance of which runs past the side of the complainant, Miss G’s, house.
Because the cul-de-sac is too narrow, the council requires residents to leave waste by the side wall of Miss G’s house so the truck can reverse in and collect the waste of the entire cul-de-sac from one site.
However, the complainant said some neighbours do not leave their bins at the site on collection day but may do so days in advance. Nor do some residents remove their bins on collection day and some are left there for days afterwards. If residents put the wrong waste in the wrong bin, “as frequently happens”, the contractor refuses to remove the bins. This results in rotting rubbish being left by the wall for days on end which causes a nuisance, the complainant said.
Ombudsman
After a series of complaints from 2017, the ombudsman was involved in 2019 and after an investigation, it found the council failed to stop Miss G’s neighbours from leaving household waste bins outside her property and in a non-compliant way.
The ombudsman said: “The was due to a failure by council for not maintaining the ability to enforce its powers under the Act. The council agreed to take steps to remedy, including taking enforcement action where necessary.”
In September 2021, the council explained that before any enforcement activity or action could be taken, the bin collection point must first be assessed and clarified to Miss G’s neighbours properly.
The council then worked on moving the collection point, and instead in September 2022 said the collection point should be moved to the front of the complainants property instead. It wrote to residents and outlined its powers to take enforcement action if problems continued and enacted enforcement officers to patrol the area on a weekly basis.
However, this sparked another complaint to the ombudsman as the complainant felt the council had not remedied the situation.
The lack of any enforcement activity to ensure compliance can only be attributed to a delay
- Ombudsman
Ruling
The ombudsman has now ruled that the council “acknowledged there was an issue concerning non-compliance with waste designation when we previously investigated this matter”.
However, the ombudsman said “the lack of any enforcement activity to ensure compliance can only be attributed to a delay by the council in taking the action it said it would for breaches it accepts have been continuing for a number of years.”
“I therefore find fault by the council and I fully accept this caused Miss G an injustice due to the negative impact it had on the use and enjoyment of her home.”
‘Implementing’
The council has now written an apology to the complainant as well as a payment of £400.
It must also clarify to the complainant how evidence of non-compliance with the bin rules should be submitted to the council. The council will also arrange to have a telephone call at the end of each month for the next three months to review and discuss any problems.
Patrols will also be put in place by officers from the relevant council department to monitor fly-tipping and we will use this resource as a way to monitor the situation, as well as to encourage the complainant to report instances of bins not being collected.
In response to the ruling. councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “We accept the findings of the Ombudsman. We have apologised to the complainants and have agreed to and are already implementing the recommendations and actions as set out in the Ombudsman’s report.”
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