News

Council apologises after residents left for seven months without refuse collection

25 Sep 2026 6 minute read

Nathan Long says since he and his family moved onto Hawthorn Meadows in April, they have not received their waste bins or had any rubbish or recycling collections

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

A councillor has issued an unreserved apology to residents who have gone almost seven months without a bin collection.

But Flintshire Cabinet Member for Waste and Transportation Cllr Glyn Banks rejected calls by residents of Hawthorn Meadows in Buckley for a Council Tax refund, arguing that refuse collections makes up a tiny percentage of the services it funds.

Cllr Banks offered no excuses for the fact almost 70 households on the new Castle Green development off Well Street have not had any bin collections since March this year.

“It is entirely unacceptable that residents have been living in their homes since Spring without regular waste and recycling provisions, especially as they are registered for services and also registered for council tax,” he told a meeting of Flintshire County Council.

“Residents should never be left caught in the middle of operational disputes and we apologise unreservedly for the strain and inconvenience that this has caused.”

The issue was raised by Flintshire People’s Voice Cllr Carolyn Preece, representing Buckley Bistre West, in response to residents’ complaints and media coverage by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“Residents of Hawthorn Meadows in Buckley have been left without what should be one of the most basic services provided by this council, the collection of their household waste and recycling,” she said.

“There are nearly 70 occupied homes on the site. That’s over 140 residents. These are families and individuals who have been moved into their homes, registered for council tax and quite reasonably expect to receive the waste and recycling services that other Flintshire residents receive.

“They have if been left for months without bins, recycling bags and regular collections.

“People are being forced to store household waste for prolonged periods. It affects people’s homes, their quality of life and their confidence in the services they are paying for.

“Let me be clear, Hawthorn Meadow was not an unexpected development. It is an allocated housing site within the Flintshire Local Development Plan. The council have known for years that this site was intended for residential development.

“How did we get to a situation where people are living in these houses, paying council tax, but the arrangements for their waste and recycling collections are not in place?

“I recognise there will be different responsibilities between the council, the developer and other parties involved – but residents must not be caught in the middle.

“I am asking for the council to urgently ensure that all residents’ properties at Hawthorn Meadows off Well Street receive a full waste and recycling service.”

Buckley Pentrobin Cllr Mike Peers from Reform UK Wales agreed.

“I was quite dismayed to see the press coverage on this. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How would it have been if council tax wasn’t collected until the waste and recycling receptacles had been provided?

“I’m sure the council would have been really trying to push this. I was going to say it’s a poor service delivery, but in actual fact, it’s a non-existent service delivery.

“Once planning have approved this, surely there must be a mechanism of connecting StreetScene with planning approval. When council taxpayers are registered, there should be something that tells StreetScene these people are living there, they’re paying the council tax.

“It’s absolutely embarrassing for this authority.”

Buckley Mountain Cllr Carol Ellis – leader of the True Independents Group – said to allow this during a record-breaking hot summer compounded the issue.

“We have just gone through one of the hottest summers on record and we’ve got families having to store food waste in their homes. People in this day and age should not be expected to live under these circumstances when they are paying for a basic service they’re not receiving.”

Cllr Ellis also repeated the appeals of residents that they should receive a refund on their council tax as a result of the delays.

“Will they be getting a refund for the service they haven’t received?” she said. “I think it needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

“It’s not acceptable – I give due respect to everyone involved however we need to hang our heads in shame.”

FPV Cllr Dan Rose – representing Buckley Bistre – also asked whether residents would receive a council tax refund.

Cllr Banks agreed with the criticism levelled at his department.

“We fully acknowledge that our actions to remedy the matter are taking much longer than expected,” he said.

He told members that there were a number of issues that have contributed to some delays – such as risk assessments, lead times for ordering bins and communication issues between the authority and developer Castle Green Homes – but he added that all of these should have been worked around quickly to ensure a service was provided.

“Regardless of these operational challenges and where the breakdown in this process occurred on this occasion, our primary responsibility is to provide the essential services our residents are paying for and our priority now is in resolving this issue for the residents,” he said..

“We agree entirely that developments allocated within the LDP should have had these statutory provisions seamlessly integrated prior to occupancy and we are reviewing our internal processes and communications between planning highways and waste teams to ensure lessons are learned.”

He said that a temporary route for collection at Hawthorn Meadows had been agreed on September 18 and will commence following a review of the roads on the estate to ensure bin wagons can safely access the site.”

He refused to accept residents should receive council tax refunds however.

“They (the residents) are not going to get a rebate of their council tax. Roughly 3.5% of your council tax covers your waste collections for a year.”

Members of the council unanimously supported a motion to establish waste collections on Hawthorn Meadows without delay and to review processes to prevent this happening to other new-build sites in the county.

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