Green bin fiasco at sheltered housing

Older residents at one of Ormskirk’s sheltered housing schemes have approached Our West Lancashire for help after being asked to pay the council’s unpopular £30 green bin charge. This is even though the gardens belong to the council and the residents already pay a service charge for garden maintenance!

Cross Hall Court residents became unhappy with the level of garden maintenance they received from the council for their service charge and so started to carry out some gardening themselves to achieve a better standard. Now the council are refusing to empty the green garden waste bins unless the sheltered housing residents pay the £30 per bin charge. There are five bins in use.

One of the residents, Ronald Harrison said, “We haven’t received any communication asking us to pay the charge and the first we knew was when yellow and black stickers appeared on the bins on Thursday, the normal collection day. The Scheme Manager rang the council and they told her we would have to pay the charge.”

He continued, “This makes no sense. The gardens belong to the council and we already pay a service charge for them to be maintained. Our gardening efforts simply enhance what the council do. Besides, there are 41 flats here, who do they expect to pay this charge? That’s why I contacted Our West Lancashire.”

Ian Davis from Our West Lancashire said, “The council is being ridiculous and needs to change its mind. It is asking these older people living in sheltered accommodation to pay twice for the service. That is quite wrong.”

Cllr Adrian Owens concluded, saying that he has written to the Street Scene Portfolio Holder. “I hope that common sense and common humanity is exercised here and the Portfolio Holder instructs his officers to collect these bins now and in the future.”