Full Inquiry into Communal Bins Consultation

9.20.46am GMT Wed 25th Feb 2004

Consultation should listen to local residents

A full inquiry into the way the council consulted residents on the introduction of the communal bins scheme has been agreed.

Lib Dem ward Councillors Dawn Davidson (Regency) and David Watkins (Brunswick) persuaded the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee to launch a full investigation into the saga.

A full scrutiny investigation will now be launched to learn lessons from the introduction of the scheme.

Outlining her reasons for the investigation Dawn Davidson said:

"It has become increasingly apparent that since the pilot scheme was first announced that residents have been particularly aggrieved by what they perceived was a totally inadequate and flawed consultation process. Leaving aside the resistance to this scheme anyway, the main complaint has been that few residents felt that had been made fully aware of the scheme or involved in any meaningful way in contributing comments that would have assisted City Clean in the early stages of implementation."

"A proper consultation involving all parties would have prevented some of the recent demonstrations such as at the last Council meeting and the Environment Committee. The majority of these residents do not have a problem with the collection of rubbish and this would have become apparent if meaningful consultation had occurred. This would perhaps have influenced the decision regarding which roads should be included in any pilot scheme."