Poundbury resident blasts 'awful' smelling uncollected bins

Communal bins outside of the block of flats on Wishay Street, close to Pummery Square, have not been collected regularly, with locals on the Duchy's model estate - endorsed by King Charles when he was the Prince of Wales - calling the area 'a disgrace.'

One local said the King himself would be horrified.

Pictures have shown refuse overflowing with all sorts of items left around the site including fabric bags, children’s toys and linoleum flooring.

The bins on Wishay Street were overflowing and had not been collected (Image: Supplied) Dorset Council's waste services team is responsible for the collection, whilst the Guinness Partnership own the flats in Wishay Street.

Jay Morrachan, a resident in the flats said: "I wish they weren't in a bad state- I don't even know how often they get collected. 

The bins lie outside the flat on Wishay Street (Image: Alfie Lumb) "It reflects badly on us, and it's not nice to be living around this. It is an eyesore as no one wants to come here and see rubbish."

A resident aged in their 80s of nearby Ashington Street said: "The King would be horrified, it's like a third world country and it's like this every week. There are rats about - it's a disgrace. This is not a council house estate."

One resident of Longmoor Street said: "The number of bins is not sufficient, there needs to be a second refuse and recycling point. It's carnage around Christmas with rubbish everywhere."

Residents say the bins on Wishay Street overflow every week (Image: Alfie Lumb) Another Longmor Street resident added: "Three years ago, they introduced communal bins to the area and it made it better, but they are liable to overfill, and maybe people throw away waste when passing through."

Another resident said: “There has been refuse left at the Guinness housing trust flats in Wishay Street for much of the summer. There are rats everywhere and the smell is awful."

“I have made many attempts to contact them and I feel like they have ignored my emails.

“No one seems to be bothered, these are the worst kept flats in Poundbury, that have been totally neglected by the trust.”

Dorset Council councillor for Poundbury Richard Biggs, said: "A member of Dorset Council Waste Services inspected it a couple of weeks ago, and noted that a bin was missing. When the bins are overflowing the council has no obligation to take them and we're doing everything possible but it's down to the users to treat them with respect."

Lesley Clark, chair of the Poundbury Residents' Association said: "We are fully aware of the situation for residents and have advised the complainant to explore all avenues including contacting councillors." 

Dorset Council say the bins have been ‘contaminated’ with unrecyclable material, with a spokesperson confirming that collections have been infrequent and that it will not be responsible for emptying bins containing the large amounts of ‘the wrong materials.’

A spokesperson said: “Waste collections have been infrequent here as the communal recycling bins are often contaminated with unrecyclable material. We are in the process of identifying the appropriate resident’s association and/or householder(s) responsible for the waste, so we can contact them directly and resolve the problem.

“Dorset Council will not empty recycling bins which contain large amounts of the wrong materials. Contamination of recycling bin contents results in higher disposal costs for the Dorset Council Tax-payer, and has a negative impact on the environment.”

The housing trust has since hired contractors, who cleaned and cleared the area. It has also issued a notice to residents on next steps to preserve the area. 

The bins on Wishay Street have since been cleaned and cleared (Image: The Guinness Partnership) A spokesperson for The Guinness Partnership said: “We are aware of the issues with fly-tipping on Wishay Street and have been working with Dorset Waste Services to find a solution, including the potential for lockable bins and an additional bin.

“Our contractors attended site on the 19 September and cleared and cleaned the area.

“We have spoken to all of our residents at Wishay Street recently and will write to them to confirm the steps we are taking to resolve the matter and include a reminder on the use of the bins.

"We have not received any reports of rodents from our residents, but we will instruct pest control to check the area as a precaution."