Minutes:
This has been done.
This has been swept.
Lights have been reported to the County Council.
The developer has agreed to install this footpath.
J Wells introduced himself to residents present. In addressing the question asked previously around both bins being collected on a week on / week off basis J Wells noted that all of the route planning has taken place for the bin crews; there was a desire to ensure that residents’ collection days did not change. OWBC is the collection agency, LCC are the disposal agency – LCC direct OWBC to dispose of their waste at Whetstone, if there is an issue at Whetstone then Bardon is the next site that is used. Recycling is handled by CasePak at Leicester Forest East. Staffing was a consideration for the changing in collection too, and the amount of waste that would be collected each week would necessitate the waste to be disposed of at Bardon – this would not generate any cost savings for the Council given the distance the wagons would be required to travel. No other collections, such as medical and garden waste, will be affected by this. Communal bin collection days are likely to change however given the volume of waste. Christmas collections are still being planned for to ensure the two week collection schedule is still able to be followed. The Council will produce a calendar for households from the middle of August detailing collection dates up until July 2025.
Residents queried if they are able to use any tip to dispose of any additional waste they may generate – This shouldn’t usually be an issue however Freemans Common, ran by the City Council, have checked postcodes on occasion and turned Borough residents away. This is perfectly legal for the City Council to do as the tips accept different waste to the County. Links and guidance on what the Leicestershire tips accept will be included on the bin calendar provided to residents.
Bank Holiday collections will remain unchanged to the current arrangements at present, with Bank Holidays being collection days as normal for residents.
Cllr. Gore queried if there is a danger of cross-contamination where residents may put household waste into recycling bins if their black bin is full – this would not be found until the waste arrives at CasePak and would result in the recycling being rejected. This is a risk currently so would not change on a fortnightly basis so no other options have been considered around this; residents asked if a percentage of the Borough could have their recycling collected per week but this is not feasible.
Recycling is likely to fill up quicker over a fortnightly basis and bigger bins have not been offered. Cardboard can be left at the side of the recycling bins and will still be collected by the OWBC crews. Cllr. Boulter noted that the Government is going to be ensuring that packaging will be reduced from supermarkets etc. which should reduce the amount of recycling and waste being generated. Supermarkets and other businesses can be fined for not complying with this. For non-recyclable packaging companies will be forced to pay a premium rate for the packaging. Fast food outlets are also affected by this.
A resident noted that some plastics are not recyclable at home and need to go to specific collection points; the Government will providing more guidance to households regarding this.
Around 2500 households have the larger bin size already (240ltr) and note that they are filling this bin on a weekly basis; they have been offered 360ltr bins ahead of the change if they met specific criteria such as medical waste etc. – only 10 households have been able to upgrade to the 360ltr bins in the Borough. Households with 120ltr bins were able to pay £38.00 to upgrade to 240ltr bins.
Food waste collections will be coming in for households on 31 March 2026 which will further reduce the amount of waste households need to fit into black bins.
Some household furniture will also need to be collected for disposal by a dedicated service.
A resident queried ownership of the bin as it has OWBC branding on it; it was confirmed that the bin is owned by the resident and that if they move house they can take it with them should they wish to do so.
Bin crews will work up to and including Christmas Eve, and return to collections on 27 December. They also cannot collect on New Year’s Eve. These are the only three days that the bin crews will not be collecting in the Borough.
Residents expressed thanks for the refuse crews for their speed of work presently. Others noted however that the crews are leaving bins in the middle of the pavement on collection day which causes significant obstructions; this will be passed back to the bin crews. It was also noted that some crews are taking plastic bags out of one bin and placing them in others ahead of the collection; this should not be happening.
Residents queried if disabled residents can apply for their bins to be collected from elsewhere on their property if they are unable to get them to the curbside. Assisted collections are expected to have a small increase in requests with the weight of bins potentially increasing; the weight of a bin will not qualify someone for an assisted collection and this will be assessed upon application.
No further information at this time.
An objection by LCC Highways has been lifted so planning for housing can go ahead. This means that some of the planning conditions have been removed.
Slight error in the Minutes of the previous meeting; it is Bushloe House that has been held up by Historic England, not Brocks Hill. A non-returnable deposit has been paid as part of the sale of Bushloe House.
Works were taking place but now appear to have stopped. Some windows have been changed at The Elms that fall foul of planning restrictions on the building. It will be opening in the future as a restaurant.