Green Party at war with Norwich City Council over bin issue

Green Party councillor Alex Catt has attacked his political rivals at the Labour-run Norwich City Council saying the authority is allowing eight wheelie bins to be left on the pavement outside Magdalen Gates Primary School. 

He added that the council’s attitude at rubbish dumped outside the school in Bull Close Road has been “disappointing”.

Household bins left along the gates of Magdalen Gates Primary School in NR3 have caused non-stop issues for locals (Image: Alex Catt) The presence of the bins led to an increase in fly-tipping along the street (Image: Alex Catt) A spokesman for the council hit back and said council staff “continually monitor the cleanliness of the lane and respond immediately to incidents of fly-tipping".

WHAT IS THE ROW ABOUT?

People living near the primary school say they have had to put up with offensive smells, unsightly rubbish and piles of rotting waste right on its doorstep for the last several years.

Norwich City Council has been blamed for the issue after officials approved a home in Spencer Street, which runs off Bull Close Road as critics say they did not ensure adequate bin storage was included in the plans.

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They say this has resulted in wheelie bins being placed near the school which has encouraged fly-tipping and people living in the area say bed frames, mattresses, carpets and garden waste have been dumped.

Josephine Maughan, who lives near the school, said: "My son and I had to bypass a mound of festering waste in the summer to get to the school gate.

"Although it was particularly unpleasant on that day, this is not uncommon."

The bins block the path to the school and cover up the mural which is painted along the wall (Image: Google)

Ms Maugham claims that the rubbish has made a mess of the school's "cherished" mural which is painted along the wall.

The concerned local decided to try and clean up the area but says efforts to include Norwich City Council in finding a solution were shortlived. She claims months' worth of meetings saw only notices attached to the bins to be moved further up the alley.

This, Ms Maughan said, did not last for very long.

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"It is so frustrating that the council cares so little about the appearance of our area," she said.

Magdalen Gates Primary School confirmed that fly-tipping is an issue outside the school.

Will Turnpenny, co-headteacher, said: "Our school environment is safe and welcoming for children but we are aware of issues relating to rubbish and fly-tipping outside of the school grounds.

“We hope that all of those in the local community can work together to tackle this issue."

Green councillor Alex Catt is now involved in finding a solution to the problem (Image: Alex Catt)

ROW BETWEEN COUNCILLORS

Frustrated with what she considered inaction by the council, Ms Maugham says she approached Cllr Catt to become involved to help solve the issue. 

Taking up the issue Cllr Catt has slammed his colleagues at City Hall for their “disappointing” attitude towards the dumped rubbish.

He said:  "The authority is allowing around eight wheelie bins to be left permanently on the pavement directly outside the school gates and blocking the footway which looks awful.

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"This is an ongoing issue made worse by a complete lack of enforcement by City Hall."

He added: “The attitude of the Labour-run administration has been incredibly disappointing, failing to take responsibility for an issue of their own creation and crushing community spirit.

"We should be championing these community projects, but it appears that the council were not interested."

But a spokesman for the council hit back saying: "The lack of storage space outside Magdalen Gates School has been a challenging problem.

The area has been used as a dumping ground for unwanted household furniture and waste (Image: Alex Catt)

"We continually monitor the cleanliness of the lane and respond immediately to incidents of fly-tipping."

Mr Catt added that  Norwich City Council had been listed as the worst council in the entire country for clamping down on fly-tipping in recent figures.

But the spokesman disputed this claim.  

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"The data quoted by Mr Catt is almost two years old," a spokesman said.

"Since then we have issued 11 penalty notices, carried out nearly 100 investigations and issued over 50 warning letters.

"It should be noted that 42 local authorities did not issue any fixed penalty notices in the period covered by the report, so it is incorrect that Norwich has the worst fly-tipping enforcement rate in the country."