800 new communal bins will arrive across North and South Jesmond in the coming year, Newcastle City Council’s 2017/18 budget document has confirmed.

The budget document, which has been consulted on and recommended to the council, will be debated and voted on this evening (March 1st). Contained within the document is confirmation that “throughout 2017/2018 [the council] will be working to have [communal bins in North and South Jesmond] where there is site suitability”.

Newcastle City Council confirmed to JesmondLocal approximate figures for the scheme, following a request for information to their press office.

2,822 properties in North Jesmond will be affected by the communal bin rollout, with 600 communal bin sets installed, whilst 930 properties in South Jesmond will come under the scheme, with 200 bins installed.

Other wards that will be given communal bins – where feasible – include North and South Heaton, East and West Gosforth, and Westgate.

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said “the communal bin scheme is currently being rolled out across areas of Newcastle’s West End. We are assessing other parts of the City including areas of North and South Jesmond to determine which back lanes are suitable for the new communal bins.”

It was argued that a communal bin scheme would not only help Newcastle City Council to cut the £30m from their overall budget, but would also make it easier for residents to recycle and keep on top of back lane mess.

The City spokesperson continued: “The roll out of communal bins to date has proven beneficial to the selected back lanes, with the long term aim of improving the overall back lane environment and resolving the issue of littering.”

Despite, opposition to these proposals, and concerns raised in amendments made between October and December 2016, the communal bin scheme has already been implemented in wards such as Ouseburn, Benwell, Scotswood and South Jesmond, and bins will be collected every alternate week.

20 year old resident Lucky Zhang told JesmondLocal that “sharing communal bins may not be such a big deal. On one hand, it may offer us a potential opportunity to have a chitchat with our unacquainted neighbours and build a harmonious relationship among the whole community, but on the other hand, the capacity of the bins is something worth thinking about.”

Following this recent claim that city bosses plan to issue around 800 communal bins to back lanes, Newcastle City Council’s new Neighbourhood Environmental Action Teams (NEAT) have recently been spotted on clean-up  operations in Jesmond, focussing on back lanes, which have been the recent victim of fly tipping and neglect.

NEAT can be called to the Jesmond area after the file of any reasonable complaint from local residents.

While clean-up teams are still active in the Jesmond ward and regular bin collections are as normal, communal bins have already been issued to some streets, namely Deuchar Street.

Complaints from residents about back lane fly tipping, litter and recent antisocial behaviour reports associated with uncleanliness, were addressed at JesmondLocal’s ‘Common Ground’ debate held on  January 24th.

At the debate, residents raised questions regarding the apparent rise of litter in Jesmond as the result of studentification, however only 20% of voters in the debate poll actually said that litter was the main issue caused by students. 

The other 80% were more concerned by threats, violence and loud noises.