Latest news with #EBLN
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Bristol flats' food waste 'not collected for four months'
Residents of a block of flats where food waste and recycling was not collected for four months say they fear rubbish could pile up again unless a long-term solution is living in the flats on Victoria Avenue in Redfield, Bristol, blame the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (EBLN) scheme for refuse workers' reluctance to drive bin lorries down their eastern end of the street has been blocked off with planters, meaning large vehicles accessing the site need to reverse out as there is insufficient space to Waste and Bristol City Council have apologised for the disruption and said they are working together "as a matter of urgency to find a solution". Recycling, including food waste, was not collected from the flats between April and Wednesday of this say they were forced to keep their windows closed through two heatwaves due to the smell and resulting swarms of Waste sent a team of refuse workers down after the issue was reported in Bristol Live, but residents have not been told if regular waste collections have Ball said he had "flies encrusting my windows" during the last heatwave. "The smell was atrocious - and I live on the top floor," he Freeman said residents had initially been told the lack of collections was down to general waste being thrown in with recycling."But one bin man told us it was because they couldn't get the truck up the narrow roads and that due to the type of truck they couldn't reverse properly," she added."But when they did get a bin lorry to come, they seemed to reverse fine."Ms Freeman said residents fear the problem could return, as Bristol Waste has only said it is "trying to come up with a solution".She said Bristol Waste had told residents it was considering replacing all the bins to try and get rid of the smell. 'Matter of urgency' Bristol Waste and Bristol City Council said in a statement: "We acknowledge that this is not the level of service Bristol's residents expect, and we're working hard to rectify this as quickly as possible."The majority of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood has seen consistent waste and recycling collections, and the nature of the trial means we're in a good position to adapt and learn from these specific issues."The statement added: "This is a learning curve, and Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste are working together as a matter of urgency to find solutions to these problems."
Telegraph
10-04-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Fire engine gets stuck behind LTN bollard
A fire engine crew found themselves stuck behind a low-traffic neighbourhood roadblock because they did not know the code to drop the bollard. The incident, which was captured on camera by a resident, saw fire crews struggling to navigate around the narrow terraced streets of the areas of Redfield and Barton Hill in Bristol. But both Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Bristol city council played down the issue, and fire chiefs said they wanted to reassure residents that they 'do not anticipate' that the controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (EBLN) traffic scheme will 'impact our average response times to emergency incidents'. They said firefighters are still in the process of 'familiarising themselves' with the new road layouts and access procedures to the area. The incident happened on Tuesday morning after firefighters left the scene of a bin-fire in a block of flats. The crew approached an EBLN 'modal filter' which contained planters wide enough apart to let emergency vehicles through – but the gap is blocked by a bollard which requires an access code to unlock and lower. The fire crew that attended the fire was pictured on Tuesday morning trying and failing to lower the bollard. A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue said: 'We'd like to reassure residents that from our initial findings we do not anticipate the new EBLN scheme will impact our average response times to emergency incidents. 'Following the launch of the new scheme, firefighters are familiarising themselves with the new road layouts and access procedures to the area.' She added: 'We continue to work closely with the council to ensure we have access to the area beyond the bollards, including access codes and use of the bus gate.' The EBLN scheme has effectively created a series of self-contained cul-de-sacs for motorists. Drivers are left with a network of smaller residential streets off main roads that are no longer connected to each other. Bristol city council played down the seriousness of the incident, after the photograph sparked a backlash on social media from opponents of the scheme. The council said the incident the fire crews were called to did not require first responders to drop any bollards to actually reach the scene – the incident with the bollard happened as fire crews were leaving the area to return to base – and claimed it had 'offered multiple meetings' with emergency services during various stages of the design of the scheme. Cllr Ed Plowden, chairman of Bristol's Transport and Connectivity Committee, said traffic congestion was 'one of the biggest' contributors to delays to emergency services getting to incidents. 'We have been in regular communication with Avon Fire and Rescue Service and other emergency services throughout the process of designing and implementing the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial scheme,' said Cllr Plowden, a Green Party councillor. 'One of the biggest contributors to delays to our city's emergency services remains the issue of excess traffic, which the scheme aims to rectify. The emergency services have the ability to drop any bollards that may be blocking their path and are able to freely use the scheme's bus gates. 'We will continue to work closely with emergency services to ensure that they can carry out their vital work during the scheme's trial period and beyond.'
