Rubbish start to New Year in New Addington as bin ban drags on
FLAT-DWELLERS in New Addington are starting 2013 still without doorstep rubbish collections, two years after a boycott was announced on safety grounds.
Residents of the private flats above Central Parade have since had to haul their rubbish down unlit, slippery stairs deemed too dangerous for the council's rubbish collector, Veolia Environmental Services.
Delays over lighting the stairwells is thought to be the main reason behind Veolia's decision to continue collecting rubbish only from street level.
Emma Washington, 22, who lives in one of the flats, said: "The stairs are very slippery and the hygiene is awful. It is hard to manage them, especially with my little boy."
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Neighbour Kevin Spinks, 34, said: "It is fair enough they don't collect them because it is very dark. It is OK for me but there are elderly people here, too."
A spokesman for Veolia said it would consider reinstating the rubbish collections if the lighting and other problems were addressed.
He said: "The arrangements made for residents to put out their refuse once a week are still in place and are working satisfactorily.
"However, if the owners do carry out repair work to the staircases then we will of course look at reverting to the previous collection system."
Lighting in the stairwells was delayed due to power companies squabbling over which firm should provide the electricity, as the Advertiser reported last November.
Traders on the parade have now installed new lights and say they are waiting for UK Power Networks to install the electricity supply.
UK Power Networks, however, claims it is ready to carry out its work and is waiting to be told when it should start.
Company spokesman James Barber said: "We are trying our best to resolve this issue."
Ward councillor Tony Pearson said: "I do not think it is right the residents are suffering in this way. Until we get the lights fixed, Veolia will not go up there. There are no other issues they have told us about."
The new lights have been paid for with some of the £50,000 pledged by London mayor Boris Johnson in the summer to improve New Addington.
The borough's Greater London Assembly (GLA) member, Steve O'Connell, said: "We had a site visit there a couple of weeks ago and we – the council, the GLA and the traders – are all pushing to get the stairwells lit."
Comments
by Pathfinders
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 8:14PM
“Chutes need land to access onto with large bins - which is all privately owned. There is no access along the back (as the businesses have their access at the back and is all private0. Each end has a staircase where again the land is not council owned so getting permission/legal agreement with landlords where most live abroad or far away and really don't care would, we think, be virtually impossible.
Who then pays for the upkeep of said chutes. bins and land? If the majority of the Landlords presently can't be bothered even making sure the service road along the back of the Parade is drivable for delivery vehicles we think it highly unlikely they will take on any further responsibility”
by roomster
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 3:59PM
“It can be a problem having chutes in flats such as the Central Parade type and I'm sorry to say arsonists do like chutes where there is easy access to the openings as there would be on these flats, they do of course also like piles of rubbish so this problem should have been dealt with a long time ago.”
by Chris_Wilcox
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 3:28PM
“I still think a chute system could work for some. However...
Shouldn't those stairwells be lit anyway as a simple matter of Public safety? They must be a haven for muggers.”
by Pathfinders
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 3:11PM
“From the lay of the land, a chute system couldn't work here Chris_Wilcox.
What it needs is the energy company UK Power to stop trying to find ways to wriggle out of what are its recognised (and publicly acknowledged) responsibilities and get the work done. Connecting electricity at either end of the flats (leaving Central Parade Business Partnership with unreachable figure of 50k to run wiring along to all the lights) is unacceptable. The ryefield boards belong to UK Power and need replacing - THIS is the long-outstanding issue - Mr Barber should know it, and UK Power should man-up, and get the job done!
Lighting those stairwells will make a massive difference to those who live above, and to those who use Central Parade when its dark.”
by Chris_Wilcox
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 1:17PM
“They need a chute system. But where the flats are Privately owned the residents will have to pay for it themselves.
And I doubt it'll be cheap...”