Summary: The Council was at fault for the time taken to address concerns about bin lorries being able to collect rubbish outside of Mr X’s property. This meant Mr X had to wait longer than he should have for the Council to put in place measures to address the issues. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and make a payment to recognise the frustration he suffered.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the way the Council handled his concerns about bin lorries missing collections.
2. Mr X says since December 2024, if bin lorries could not park in a loading bay outside of the building where he lives, they would not collect waste.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened

8. Mr X lives in a building made up of purpose built flats. There are communal waste bins located in a bin store, where residents put their rubbish and these are collected by bin lorries.
9. In December 2024, Mr X reported the bin lorries were missing waste collections as there were cars parked in the loading bays located next to the bin store. Prior to this bin lorries would park near a roundabout and collect the waste.
10. The Council said it held discussions with the management company and concierge at Mr X’s building and asked that bins were placed in a different location, however this was not possible. The Council also asked that retractable bollards were put in place but this did not happen.
11. On 7 January 2025, Mr X complained to the Council that resident’s bins were not being regularly collected and the situation was becoming unmanageable with the build-up of waste in the bin store.
12. In early February 2025, the Council sent residents in Mr X’s building letters telling them they could not park in the loading bays.
13. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint on 6 February 2025. The Council said:
• It had constant issues gaining access to the bin store due to cars being parked in the loading bay. The Council said the location was privately managed and it had no jurisdiction on the land.
• It had met with the managing agent to try to ensure the area was clear for bin lorries.
• It would letter drop residents again asking them not to park on the loading bays.
• Its parking section would see if it could put in place any measures to keep the area clear.
14. On 11 March 2025, Mr X asked the Council to consider his complaint at the next stage of its complaints process. Mr X said:
• The concierge would not be able to manage the loading bays.
• The letter drops were only to residents in his building, but it is residents in other buildings who are parking in the loading bay.
• He has now found out the Council owns the land the loading bay is on so it should do something about this to ensure bins are collected.
• The Council collected the bins for the last three years even at times when the loading bay was full.
• Mr X asked the Council to consider removing the loading bay or securing bollards to prevent people parking on it and for compensation for the inconvenience and lack of resolution since December 2024.
15. In March 2025, the management company of the building where Mr X lived, arranged for a one-off collection of waste to remove the build-up of waste in the bin stores. Mr X said the residents of the building were charged for this.
16. The Council also started to send parking enforcement officers to the area to ticket cars which parked in the loading bays.
17. On 4 June 2025, the Council provided its final response to Mr X’s complaint. The Council said:
• It was essential the loading bays were clear to allow bin lorries to collect waste. Before December 2024, when the loading bays were full the bin lorries would park on the roundabout, but this meant that bin pulling distances exceeded saftey standards and was a hazard to the bin workmen.
• It has worked with the management agent and concierge for Mr X’s building. The Council said it asked for bins to be presented on collection days and suggested retractable bollards but no measures were put in place which prolonged the issue.
• It had sent letters to residents about parking on the loading bays and did everything possible to maintain waste collection services every time collections were missed. The Council said it has suggested alternative methods for bin presentation to resolve the issue and used parking enforcement officers to ticket vehicles parked in the loading bays.
18. In September 2025, the Council put up new signage at the loading bays as previous signage saying no parking was stolen. Internal communication at the Council showed several signs had been stolen at the loading bays and that residents could still load and unload their vehicles here, so if they were doing this when the bin lorries came, the lorries would have to wait or not be able to collect waste.
19. In early October 2025, the Council decided to put up parking suspension signage again as a short term measure while it continued to explore what it could do long term.
20. In late October 2025, the Council sent an update to the Ombudsman after Mr X complained. The Council said it had a Traffic Management Order for the loading bay and it had several options it was conceding which all would require a change to the Traffic Management Order. The Council said it would get legal advice before deciding on which option to pursue.
21. In mid-November 2025, the Council removed the loading bay and replaced it with double yellow lines and kerb blips. The Council said this meant that the area would be kept clear at all times and was the option which did not require signage.

Analysis

22. When Mr X initially reported the issues with waste collection to the Council in December 2024 and then subsequently complained to the Council in January 2025, it told him the area was privately owned. This was fault.
23. Given that the Council had a Traffic Management Order for the area and owned the land it should have not given Mr X this advice. Mr X then had to look into who did own the land and found it was in fact the Council. Had the Council recognised this sooner or when Mr X first reported the waste collection issues, it could have started to take steps sooner to resolve the collection issues.
24. When the Council did come involved first of all it suggested moving the bins to a different place or having the management company install bollards. It was only after February 2025 that the Council started to letter drop residents. While the Council did also put in place measures to try to collect waste if bin lorries missed a collection, on one occasion residents had to pay for a private collection.
25. Since March/April 2025 the Council had put in place some measures to try to address the issues with cars parking in the loading bays. This included sending parking enforcement officers to ticket cars parked in the loading bays and putting up signage.
26. By October 2025, the Council decided the signage was not working as signage kept being stolen. After October 2025, the Council decided to change the Traffic management Order. It sought legal advice about a number of options for the loading bay and decided to remove the loading bay and put double yellow lines there so the areas where bin lorries have to stop would be kept clear at all times.
27. I do not consider the Council at fault for how it came to this decision. It initially attempted to deal with the issue through signage and parking enforcement. Once it was clear this would not resolve the issue long term it sought legal advice, changed the Traffic Management Order and put in double yellow lines.
28. The Council was at fault for how it dealt with Mr X’s complaint. At stage one the Council’s complaint policy says it should respond within 10 working days. It took the Council 22 working days to respond. At stage two the Council’s complaints policy says it will respond within 30 working days, however it took the Council 58 working days to respond. While I do not consider these delays caused Mr X significant injustice, he still had to wait longer than he should have to progress his complaint and complain to the Ombudsman.

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Agreed Action

29. Within one month of my final decision, the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Apologise to Mr X for the injustice caused by:
1. not taking steps to deal with the loading bay sooner and telling him it was private land.
2. delays in complaint handling.

We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.

• Pay Mr X £100 to recognise the frustration he suffered as a result of the time taken to initially start to deal with his concerns about the loading bay and for the private collection he had to contribute towards.
2. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

I find fault causing injustice. The Council agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice casued.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman