Bin collections - update

Despite extensive talks with representatives from Unite, the City Council has been unable at this point to reach an agreement over issues that have been raised by the Trade Union about terms and conditions of employment for refuse collection staff.

The Council is continuing to talk to the Union with a view to reaching a resolution, but regrettably, there will be some industrial action that will lead to disruption of collection services on Monday 11th and Friday 15th August. There is also a temporary ban on overtime working.

If you are due a collection either today or Friday, please put your bags, boxes or bins out as normal.

If they have not been collected by the end of the day, please take them back onto your property and put them out for the NEXT scheduled collection. 

That will be next week for rubbish and two weeks for either green waste or paper/glass/tins/plastic recyclables

There is no need to report a missed collection.

Sorry for any inconvenience - the council are trying to come to an agreement with the unions.

The never ending list

Some kind soul decided to dump this at the end of the alleyway on Ninfield Road connecting to the Warwick Road. The bags contained roofing tiles, so I suspect that this is the result of a dodgy builder pulling into the car park and chucking waste out of the back of the van. I've had this cleared after it was raised by a local resident.

Also on the radar from last week - there's still work in progress to sort problems with an alley off Shirley Road. Following a resident's complaint, scaffolding on a council property on Gospel Farm Road has been removed.

A resident on Gospel Lane has raised concerns about a leaking sewer pipe, which he has been trying to get sorted for some time - that's now the subject of a formal s163 notice to Severn Trent, insisting that they deal with the problem within a few weeks.

The saga of the 31 bus route grumbles on. I've written to the respondents to our petition asking for feedback on the National Express proposal to remove the buses from Pool Farm Road and Pollard Road and run them down Thornfield Road instead. This doesn't restore the service to Olton Boulevard East and that's been a major concern of residents. I've fed the views of residents back through CENTRO, but further comments are always welcome.

Residents from Woodcock Lane had raised concerns about the "SLOW" markings becoming invisible and I've been on to Amey who will be repainting them.

I've also been chasing our Fleet and Waste team over a number of piles of flytipped green waste around the ward - chiefly on the Yarnfield and Gospel Estates. I'm pushing to have these removed.

Concerns continue about a property on Yardley Road, which has hedges overgrowing the footpath - that's still work in progress.