Rubbish row at Oxford flats (From Oxford Mail)

Rubbish row at Oxford flats

2:00pm Friday 30th July 2010 in

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MUM-OF-TWO Lindsay Smith is demanding action to help residents at new flats in Headington dispose of rubbish easily and safely.

Ms Smith, 29, lives in Territorial Way, off The Slade, with her fiancé David Appleton, 30, and their sons Lee, eight, and Ryan, two.

The family moved in to their flat, owned by A2Dominion, earlier this year and were astonished to find there were only three big wheeled bins to serve 30 flats, leading to black sacks of rubbish being heaped on top.

And residents have received a letter from housing association managers suggesting their cars could be clamped if they park in front of the bin store, stopping city council crews collecting rubbish.

Mrs Smith said: “Three large bins aren’t enough to cope with the rubbish from 30 flats. We live in one block of flats and the bin store is attached to the other block.

“It was badly situated when Berkeley Homes built the flats and it opens up close to some parking spaces.

“Tenants are upset they have been sent these letters from A2Dominion telling them they could be clamped if they park their cars in front of the bin store.”

Ms Smith said the letter states: “If this problem continues, we will be left with no option but to arrange for a car-clamping company to monitor the car park.”

She commented: “This seems a bit heavy-handed and I think the housing association needs to liaise with the council to come up with a better solution.

“Nobody wants to keep rubbish in their homes, just because there isn’t enough room in the bin store.”

The former nursery teacher said: “People are parking in the allocated spaces, but that causes a problem on the day the rubbish is collected.

“There are two separate issues here, but I feel residents are being let down by the council and the housing association.”

A2Dominion’s area director Laurinda Hornblow said she was aware there had been issues with access to the bin stores in Territorial Way.

She said: “Parked cars have been blocking access, making it difficult for Oxford City Council to empty the bins and resulting in a build-up of rubbish. We’re looking into options for solving this problem. This could include installing lockable bollards in front of the bin stores to ensure no unauthorised vehicles can park there, or the introduction of a parking enforcement company.

“If appropriate, we will arrange for more bins to be provided. We want to ensure residents can dispose of their rubbish easily.”

No-one from the city council was available for comment.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk