Preston Council ready to help after 'rats spotted' following bin removals from entire city street
A council which removed waste bins from a private road over safety concerns has said it is happy to work with residents after rats were spotted running through rubbish building up in the road.
Last week Preston Council removed waste bins from Bank Parade, Avenham, due to safety concerns with the private road.
In its place a blue general waste bin has been positioned at the end of the road for all residents to use as a “temporary” measure while safety issues are addressed.
Resident Bernard Forde described the action as “disgusting”.
Speaking to the Post about the fresh rubbish issues, the Bank Parade resident of 50 years said that rubbish is building up “as expected”.
“I’ve seen four rats running through it all,” he explained.
“Rubbish is building up because we have nowhere to put the rubbish with people expected to take it to the end of the street.”
Duncan Coward, Head of Waste Management, said: “The situation at Bank Parade is being reviewed regularly and communication with property owners and residents continues.
“While we still have safety concerns surrounding the road structure - which is an unadopted, private road - the temporary waste collection arrangements should provide sufficient capacity for all residents.
“These will remain in place until further notice."
Mr Coward added: “However, we are disappointed to hear some are not using the alternative facilities provided.
“We are happy to work with residents to try to find an amicable solution.”
A private road is a road owned and maintained by a private individual, organisation, or company rather than by a government or local authority.
Mr Forde's rodent concerns come as fellow resident Tyler Fletcher revealed his ‘shock’ at the council’s decision not to provide a recycling bin in addition to the general waste bin.
He said: “It’s shocking, the fact that they’re just not doing the recycling for an entire street of people, it’s shocking from the council anyway.”
A council spokesman said: “Due to restricted space, it isn’t feasible to provide recycling facilities while the temporary arrangements are in place.”
They added that separating and recycling the waste “would take too much resource”.