Pennywell residents hit out at bin store mess

Residents at a block of flats have hit out at the council for allowing their communal bin store to be  full of rubbish. Residents have been complaining for the past six months about the smell coming from the bin area, an area that they don’t have access to, and they were shocked when they got in today to see the mess that has built up.

The area has been closed off to tenants for some time, so the mess should have been discovered by council bin men when they emptied the refuse, but residents now believe it has been like this for months.

One resident who asked not be named, said:- “There has been a smell in the stair for months. None of us who live here knew what it was as the area is locked and only accessed by the bin men. I have reported this several times over the past few months. On Tuesday a girl from the Council was here talking about new kitchens and bathrooms and I made her aware of it and she was going to report it.

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“The bucket chutes here are often blocked and the tenants have had no access to the bucket area for over two years following a fire. I have spotted mice in the stair on several occasions, and some of the neighbours have also reported issues with mice elsewhere in the block. As well as this horrible mess and smell there are also bars missing from the railings inside the stair and a child could easily fall through it.”

Councillor Lesley Hinds, the Council’s Environment Convener, said:- “This bin store is in an unacceptable condition. I have asked for it to be cleaned out as quickly as possible and for an explanation on why we have not responded to residents.

A spokesperson for local residents group, Tenants and Residents in Muirhouse said:- “We are aware of it and have been down for a look, we will support the tenants in the stair in way we can.”

Pictures supplied by Robert Pearson