Councillor calls for action over bins in St Andrews

A St Andrews councillor has called for more to be done to keep commercial bins off the streets in the town centre.
Councillor Brian Thomson said the issue was a problem on Market Street.Councillor Brian Thomson said the issue was a problem on Market Street.
Councillor Brian Thomson said the issue was a problem on Market Street.

Councillor Brian Thomson thinks there has been a lack of progress in dealing with commercial bins which are blocking car parking spaces.

He said there had been a slight improvement in businesses dealing presenting their waste property, following a presentation to the community council by Fife Council officers in December.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, he said no progress had been made in removing the bins from parking spaces.

“I’m regularly getting complaints about commercial bins being left in parking spaces,” Mr Thomson said.

“At one location in Market Street, a couple of businesses take up at least one space on a ‘twenty-four seven’ basis, and this unofficial ‘bin store’ is resulting in the loss of a parking space for the public, and lost revenue to the Council.

“However, Council officers have indicated that businesses have no other option than using parking spaces, to ensure that their waste gets uplifted.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“My own view is that the businesses chose to open in that location, fully aware that they would have to make arrangements for their waste disposal, and work within the restrictions of cars being parked outside the premises.

“It should be the responsibility of the businesses to come up with a solution for getting waste uplifted, and its completely unacceptable for car parking spaces to be constantly unavailable.”

Ken Gourlay, head of assets, transportation and environment, at Fife Council, said: “The council is doing a number of things to help resolve the problem of bins being stored on streets and in parking bays, particularly in St Andrews.

“Our enforcement officers have been visiting businesses to encourage them to retrieve their bins once they’ve been emptied. They also check businesses are meeting their legal responsibilities and provide advice and guidance about how to store, transfer and dispose of their waste without harming the environment.

“If they’re not complying we can take enforcement action but we are trying to work closely with them to find a solution.”