City centre businesses who keep their bins on the pavement or road have until February to find somewhere else to put them or face a fine.
Brighton and Hove City Council have drawn up a list of hundreds of streets in central areas – including Brunswick, Hanover and Kemp Town – where businesses will only be allowed to put bins on the public highway at strictly specified times.
Businesses with an address in the areas, called time-banding zones, or T zones, will have an agreed day of collection, when they can put out their bins between 6am and 9am or 6pm and 9pm.
Even then, they must not block the pavement or road – and cannot be left out at other times, even if the waste is not collected. They cannot be placed in non-T zone streets either.
And all commercial bins throughout the city will have to display a sticker saying who they belong to.
Environmental enforcement officers will patrol the T zones and can fine businesses £110 if bins are put on the highway outside their assigned times.
The plans were nodded through at a meeting of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee in June, after a public consultation.
A report, written by the council’s head of service improvement and modernisation Lynsay Cook, said the council regularly received complaints about bins on the highway.
She said: “Brighton and Hove City Council previously enforced against commercial waste bins on the highway but this service stopped in approximately 2009.
“Since this date there has been a proliferation of commercial bins placed in locations across the city.
“City Environment receives a number of complaints about commercial waste bins on the highway, including issues caused by their placement, the volume of them and the anti-social behaviour they encourage.
“Where complaints have been made about Brighton and Hove City Council commercial waste bins, efforts are made to find alternative locations or recommend that the business uses the trade waste sack service, if they are in the permitted area. Where other complaints are made, council officers have requested they are moved, but this is not always complied with.
“It is recognised that times are hard for businesses at present. However, there needs to be improvements as to how commercial bins are managed.
“Many businesses already store their bins or waste sacks on site and only place on the highway at the time of collection. This needs to be replicated in the T zones.”
The consultation received 522 responses, of which three quarters agreed bins on the highway were a problem in the city, and a third supported the introduction of time banding.
The list of streets in T zones and more details of the scheme can be found here.
Dear Businesses,
We, the council, have made a total mess of home refuse collection. We are now aiming to make it even harder for you to dispose of your waste too.
Please invest in “magically make the bin disappear” technology in the cramped parts of the city where there is no off road storage.
Also remember you are not allowed to use our council refuse tips and have no where you can drive your waste to. Please arrange for collection of your refuse at 4am in the morning by a service that makes no noise at all and does not disrupt anyone living near by.
Regards,
Brighton Council,
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Whilst clearer footways are essential how will businesses with no outdoor space store their waste? Surely it would be better to work with them and look at more suitable areas for storage rather than a don’t do or we will fine.
The photograph shows the top of Hove’s George Street, where these bins have blocked cycle racks and wrfecked an olive tree. It will be good to see them go.
It took ages to get rid of those in the vandalised alleyway off the other end of the street.
So they have waived the plan through based on a the approval of a third of recipients out just over 500 responses. Ludicrous. Where are the businesses supposed to store these enormous bins at other times. Many of the retail & food premises on town are tiny. How will food businesses manage to balance their food hygiene requirements with an inability to store waste away from food preparation areas. A completely ill thought out fudge from Ms Cook. Another overpromoted Geoff Raw favourite.
The traders in Hove Georges Street seem to be doing their best to block access to the top end – using commercial bins, a greengrocer and stacking old pallets on any spare pavement in between.
Christopher and Jon posting comments attacking local businesses.
Now we know the Greenies real thoughts.
I do not know who Chaz is, but this is a case of making a thoroughfare navigable. The Street did not have these bins years ago. Several of them belong to places of Blatchington Road.
Chaz doesn’t know who you or Jon are and he doesn’t need to either.
Sorry you don’t like independent traders in B&H and want to stymie them in every way you can.
But at least now they know which party NOT to vote for next time.
Yes, acknowledge all of the above, but slapping penalties on traders universally isn’t the answer, although there are undoubtedly rogues out there. The council (and I use the word in its very loosest sense with the current shower) needs to come up with effective answers to solve the problems of businesses with limited or no storage space.
Meanwhile, they are now ecstatic with enthusiasm for cycle hangars, which will get vandalised, are not pretty and will take up ever-decreasing parking spaces, which are at a premium.
Once again, this is all knee-jerk reaction to huge problems which need joined-up thinking and a proper overall strategem – no chance of that with the Greens, unfortunately.
Nothing corrodes faith in government or authority than the chasm it creates between what it promises to do and what it actually delivers. This looks like the latest and very likely candidate from the ridiculous Green Party.
Meanwhile I have to continue to dodge the speeding cars in my 20mph limit road and go on ranting about the fly-tipped rubbish outside my house, and just lament the whole host of other nugatory Green Party policies which produce no result or even worse.
When dealing with our current Green Council a rather crude term always comes to mind – which makes reference to relieving oneself upwind.
Like a load of raspberry tarts?
Pool valley coach station is just one big bin store.
Obviously we have to put as much rubbish and grime into the bus station. Anyone coming to visit the city by bus will have spent hours in the traffic jams, adding to the pollution, and then be correctly welcomed with the sight of stinking rubbish.
It is the Green way. Fumes and rubbish. We need to stop these tourists from coming.
Brighton Enviro-Mental Services
As a business owner who is going to fall foul of this as I have nowhere I can put the bins, due to no provision from the council on somewhere to put them, I can’t put a wheel bin through my door, lol its to big.. and the fact the councils service are appuling at best. Ive applied for council bin collections and waste sacks 4 months ago but still have not had a response from city clean hence why 3 months ago I sought commercial services to remove my business waste.
I’m appuled by this.
This is up there on the moronic scale but I don’t expect any less of this bunch of anti business buracrats.
This isn’t about anything other than the council wanting business to spend their money with the city clean rather than a commercial reliable service that actually recycle…
Lets look at George Street hove as an example. 90% have a bin, grouped up near the ends and middle of the street, not blocking anything and out of the way of cars and pedestrians. Probably 30/40 wheel bins in total that get tipped once a week. There is 1 council bin at the end of the street which is always overflowing and creating waste pollution, no recycling anywhere near. So please explain how that’s going to work. Is the one council bin going to get emptied 40 times a week + all the residents waste on top, laughable isn’t it.
Commercial waste bins are a blight on the landscape, block pavements, block roads and attract fly tipping. The enormous bins dwarf the landscape adding to the nightmare that is brighton city centre. It may not be the best solution but it is a huge step in the right direction. Small businesses do not need these enormous bins (often multiple) – it is irresponsible waste management due to private waste companies cluttering the streets not the businesses who have little choice. Walk around the city centre and count the bins, you will be amazed and disappointed.
I used to vote green every time – but as a small local trader in the north laine – trying to run an independent shop – I realize more each day how little the council seem to actually want small local businesses to be green and recycle –
its small independent local shops like ours that help to make Brighton an special and attractive place for visitors – who come to the town and spend money and keep the local economy afloat –
And yet the council still doesn’t offer us any kind of business recycling service – none whatsoever – (WHY NOT?!!!)
And now the council seem to want to make it as hard a possible for us to effectively use a commercial company recycling alternative –
I work very long hours each day keeping the business ticking over – and just don’t have time to arrive at the shop at 6 am in the morning to put a bag of cardboard out – these people at the council must be living in some other reality –
Would the council prefer that we cancel our commercial recycling contract – and instead place decent recyclable materials into traders green bag waste sacks – probably to be burnt at incinerator with general rubbish?
Isn’t that the complete opposite of an effective green policy? –
We opted to spend extra money in order to recycle waste properly – but this new action by the council effectively takes that more ethical solution right off the table.
the council need to think this through properly – and put into place a business recycling scheme that actually works for all small local traders – I have requested information before – as to why this doesn’t exist – and have had no explanation given.
The council really could not care less about small local traders. But next time, don’t vote Green. They are the most incompetent bunch of liars and clowns Brighton & Hove has ever been stuck with. It is time for “Greens Out!”