HOMES in a Westcliff street will get dedicated storage bins to stop them leaving rubbish bags in the road.

Veolia, Southend Council’s waste contractor, will install the storage bins outside some properties in Station Road because some household rubbish is being discarded in the street.

The contractor currently picks up rubbish bags in Station Road every day because residents in flats cannot store rubbish for a week.

But bags can be left in the road, often near litter bins, if residents miss the collection time.

Litter bins in the street will now be removed as part of the scheme and there will also be weekly, rather than daily, rubbish collections in the road.

Julian Ware-Lane, Labour councillor for Milton ward, said it was not uncommon for people to miss collection times, meaning black bags are dumped around litter bins.

Mr Ware-Lane said: “Some of the planning decisions in years gone by were poorly thought through as, with the flats being above shops, they don’t have front gardens and have nowhere to store rubbish.

“The decision was made a number of years ago to collect rubbish every day which, while not being unique in the borough, is pretty unusual and, while it isn’t the worst area, it is a significant problem because if you just miss a collection it can sit there for nearly 24 hours.

“The idea is to make provision for rubbish storage, mostly to the rear of the properties, and remove the local bins because they’re a magnet for rubbish, so collections can go back to being weekly.”

He said he is not concerned about a potential increase in littering.

Mr Ware-Lane added: “I’m one of those people who carries their rubbish for miles to put it in the bin and I think most people are the same, and I think we should solve the bigger problem first.

“When I lived in the area, in Palmeira Avenue in the late seventies and early eighties, it was a mini shopping area, but that’s shrunk a lot now.”

Waste councillor Martin Terry added: “Following consultation with the ward councillors and local residents, we have agreed a new approach to tackling a longstanding issue of waste dumping onto a section of the highway.

“We have agreed to issue individual dustbins to the occupiers of flats above shops on Station Road, which will be stored and emptied from the rear of the properties via the service road.

"We have sent a letter to each of the properties concerned, to inform them of the imminent arrival of the dustbins and to advise them that we may take enforcement action against anyone who is found to continue placing bags of rubbish on the street.

“This approach has been supported by ward councillors and local community groups and we will be monitoring its success over the coming weeks.”