Fife councillors approve bin policy for St Andrews

Councillors complained that cycle racks in St Andrews are being rendered inaccessible by businesses putting out their bins.

A time-limited collection window will be in place between 7.30-10.30am each day, with no commercial waste or commercial waste bins permitted on pavements and roads in the area.

Any bins still out outside of these hours will be removed, with the owner having to pay for a recovery charge.

The policy will affect North Street, Market Street and South Street, as well as the interconnecting streets and lanes within the town centre.

The soft launch of the policy will take affect from January 1, 2019, and the full implementation of the policy will take affect from April 1, 2019.

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Commercial bins on the streets of St Andrews has been an issue in the town for a number of years, with concerns expressed about the visual impact and the obstructions they cause.

The decision was welcomed by Councillor Brian Thomson, who said: “Having pushed for this type of policy to be implemented for some considerable time, I’m very pleased that real progress has been made, with commercial bins and containers set to be banned from the streets outwith the hours of 7.30-10.30am.

“The bins and containers are extremely unsightly, they often form obstacles for pedestrians, can attract vermin and gulls and even take up parking spaces.

“It’s been recognised that there will be some businesses for whom it is impracticable to store bins and containers off-street, and exceptions will be made if it can be demonstrated that all off-street storage options have been considered and are not available.

“However, this should only apply to a small number of businesses.

“Other local authorities, such as Edinburgh City Council, have demonstrated that such policies can work, and I hope that it will result in a marked improvement in the appearance of the town centre.”

Town centre businesses, residents and visitors were consulted as part of the report into the policy. Businesses mainly rated it as having a negative impact.