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Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Green council's eco-bins cause donkey invasion of New Forest village provoking furious backlash
A rollout of eco-friendly food bins has been blamed for chaos caused by wild donkeys breaking into them to 'feast' on scraps - and spreading disease worries. Plastic caddies to recycle leftovers have been distributed to residents in villages across Hampshire's picturesque New Forest this month for the first time. Yet locals are now raising concerns about hazardous knock-on effects. There are concerns that livestock historically roaming free in the area - such as not only donkeys but also ponies and pigs - will find the discarded food irresistible. And now within just weeks of the caddies' introduction, donkeys have been spotted eating food out of the bins at locations across the southern English region. Photos taken in Brockenhurst, a large village in the national park, show several of the animals gathered around a toppled bin - tucking in to scraps strewn across the road. Councillors at the Conservative-controlled local authority running the rollout have admitted the new arrangements 'may take some time to get used to'. But local campaigners say the damage being done so far was 'exactly what we thought would happen' - and forecast even worse ahead. Posting photos of donkeys on Facebook, New Forest resident Gail Whitcher advised neighbours to keep their food waste bins inside their gates - as she described the scenes so far as 'chaos'. She urged: 'Please can people who live down Sway Road take their bins in and put their food waste bins inside their gates. 'The donkeys have knocked over the waste bins into the road and have had a feast all the way down the road on the food waste bins which I witnessed them opening. It's chaos.' There are thought to be about 200 free-roaming donkeys in the New Forest national park, all cared for by the Commoners - locals who have the right to graze animals. The animals are said to be vital to the area's ecosystem, yet have prompted worries. The Commoners have said they are worried that the roaming livestock could contract foot and mouth disease or African swine fever from the food waste and might prove to be 'extremely dangerous'. Their comments comes as New Forest Disirict Council pushed ahead with a contentious bin scheme that had been first approved in 2022. Under the £5.6million programme, food waste caddies have been delivered to residents in Brockenhurst, New Milton, Lymington surrounding areas between April this year and this month. Andrew Parry-Norton, chairman of the New Forest Commoners Defence Association voluntary group, is among those alarmed by the impact so far. He said: 'This is exactly what we thought would happen and I think it is only going to get worse. 'If the donkeys start working out how to get into these bins then they will keep doing it and the diseases will continue to spread, which is just not fair on the animals. 'And it will only get worse in the autumn when the pigs come out as they really will eat anything. 'If the diseases spread then it could cost the farming industry, which is already in a tough place, millions if not billions of pounds to deal with. That is not an exaggeration. 'We are all for recycling especially as the area is so connected to nature but it needs to be done in the right way. 'We just want the council and other agricultural institutions to come together to create a solution. It's a different issue to that in urban areas. 'I believe that the bins need tougher locks that don't come open if the bins fall over and to be put out at the right time by the homeowners.' Mr Parry-Norton previously raised concerns at the Verderers' court, which 'regulates and protects the New Forest's unique agricultural commoning practices'. He said earlier this year: 'New Forest District Council is going to be supplying food waste bins for weekly collections - the advice is that these bins are left outside the gate and then residents top them up from a smaller kitchen waste bin. 'In the UK it is illegal to feed or allow kitchen waste to be fed to pigs. 'Not only could this a problem for pigs but also donkeys and ponies who will quickly realise this could become a potential food source. 'We, the CDA, ask the verderers to persuade New Forest District Council to retract their advice and request that these bins are kept on the residents premises where stock do not have access to it.' Households in the national park have each been given a 23l brown outdoor food waste recycling caddy and a 5l grey indoor food waste recycling caddy. The council said food waste is being taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where it would be used to create fertiliser and renewable energy. Jack Davies, councillor for Pennington and former mayor of Lymington, said his ward was being used as a 'guinea pig for the rest of the New Forest'. He told the Telegraph: 'The teething problems that we are having will be ironed out, but that is no comfort to us in the first phase as there are clearly issues. The new bins feel cheap.' Announcing the latest rollout earlier this month, the district council's portfolio holder for environment and sustainability Geoffrey Blunden had said: 'We're asking residents in the first phase of the new waste service to make the change of putting food waste into the caddies instead of the black sacks of old. 'Like with the sack service, food waste will still be collected every week, but crucially it will now be recycled and reduce what goes in the general waste bin.' The local authority said it was providing leaflets explaining what can and cannot go in food waste recycling, as well as a starter-roll of caddy liners. Cllr Blunden added: 'We know this is a new way of doing things and may take some time to get used to. 'Our collection crews will also be adjusting to collecting food waste for the first time, and new collection routes. 'By working together, it will make a big impact for our environment, our district, and future generations.' In response to the new concerns being raised, a council spokesman said the situation was being monitored 'in the early days of the new service'. Householders have been advised to store the caddies within their property boundaries other than on collection days. The spokesman also insisted: 'The move to bins and caddies is already leading to a massive improvement in street cleanliness. 'The previously used rubbish sacks were often ripped open by the free roaming animals, as well as seagulls, and foxes.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Check If Your Area Offers a Garden Waste Collection Service
To find out if your local council offers a garden waste collection service and if there is a fee click here, will take you to the government website, which will then redirect you to your council's website for further information.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Neighbours at war after mother who parked double-decker bus on her driveway to renovate it was hit by 'ASBO' after snobby complaints
A mother who parked a double decker bus on her driveway has been ordered to remove it after 'snobby' neighbours complained it was spoiling their view. Wendy Salmon was criticised by locals when she left the vehicle at the end of the leafy cul-de-sac street in Surrey on a temporary basis with hopes of renovating it. It sparked a row with families on the street, who reported her to the council. The 55-year-old, who runs a pub, has accused the neigbours of being 'curtain twitchers' after the council accepted she was 'not breaking any laws'. Following a two-year-battle, the mother-of-two must now remove her vehicle by June 20. Ms Salmon argued her neighbours were 'treating [her] like a criminal' and going behind her back. She said: 'The wording of the CPN was that it was "upsetting the ambience of the local area". Now no-one speaks to me. All my neighbours completely ignore me. 'I'm being treated like a criminal even though I've never committed a crime in my life. 'The whole thing is just ridiculous. The council said it needed a certain amount of witnesses so a neighbour went knocking on doors to try and drum up the hatred against me. She went straight on the attack. 'All her friends up the road can not even see the bus from their home. There is no way it is impacting or bothering them. It is just snobbery pure and simple.' Ms Salmon's street in Camberley is lined with four-bedroom detached properties with an average house price of around £600k. Her house is at the end of the cul-de-sac, and she has said her drive is out of the view of most of the residents complaining. Ms Salmon added: 'I keep myself to myself but this was going to be a business for me and my children. I am still hoping to do it but it's going to be a lot more costly and difficult. 'This was started by just one neighbour who did not like look of something. I had to tell her she does not own my house - she does not own the street. You can not even see it until you get to the end of the drive.' Problems began in March 2023 when Ms Salmon bought the Dennis double-decker bus for £6k from a friend's brother and parked it in her private driveway to renovate it. She explained: 'My plan was to convert the bus into a bar/cafe, offering private parties and events. 'I wanted this to be an investment for my children, giving them an opportunity to work for themselves as they both have a passion for food. 'Within 15 minutes of if being parked the man next door appeared to ask if it was a permanent fixture. 'Within another hour he returned to say that there will be complaints. Over the next few days his wife spoke to me and asked various questions. I told her that I was renovating the bus and that I hoped it would be completed in three months.' The bus was then reported as 'abandoned', which resulted in a visit from a member of Surrey Heath Borough Council's Corporate Enforcement Department. The council initially confirmed via email there are no planning restrictions, and no further action would be taken. But two weeks later, officers contacted Ms Salmon to say a further complaint had been received. She said: 'This was from a different neighbour. This neighbour cannot see the bus from their position on the road but is a friend of the initial complainer. 'I later received another visit from the council and I showed them the inside of the bus, clearly work had been carried out. Apparently, my neighbour had told them that she didn't want to see my bus while she was sitting watching TV in the summer.' Ms Salmon received an email from the council advising her to SORN (declare it will be kept off the road) the vehicle and complete the renovation as soon as possible. She added: 'Yet a few months later I received a Community Protection Warning (CPW) from the council. It said that if I can't comply with the order I could get a fixed penalty notice, be prosecuted, or the bus could be destroyed or disposed of. 'The warning had an impossible timescale, making it extremely challenging to get the bus ready for an MOT to make it legal to drive. 'A few months after this, the CPN arrived. I had no choice but to appeal.' Ms Salmon said limited funds meant she had to represent herself in court, and she reluctantly dropped the appeal after getting the wording of the CPN changed. She added: 'The council team was saying that after eight months the bus was still on my drive, and it needed to be moved. 'They couldn't comprehend that their actions had caused the delay. 'I reminded them that the CPN meant the bus would not be allowed to park in a residential area in Surrey Heath, and I explained how this would affect my business plan. 'The bottom line was if I didn't agree to move the bus then I would have to go into court and be cross examined. 'I didn't want my personal life played out in court, knowing that I would be the victim yet again of local gossip. 'I agreed to move the bus, if they agreed to change the wording on parking in a residential area. 'We went in front of the judge, I explained that the only reason I was dropping the appeal was because it was making me ill, with my family including my 79-year-old father having been bullied by my neighbours. 'I don't know what the future holds, but I do not like my previously loved home, I don't want to leave the house as I feel bullied, neighbours no longer speak to me or my partner. 'I have had over a year of sleepless nights, stress and anxiety. My dream of restoring the bus is no longer something that I want to do. 'It is the council and my neighbour who have upset the ambiance in the local area, not me.' Ms Salmon says in addition to the £6k to buy the bus she has spent around £2k on 'recycled' materials to restore it. 'It's getting so close to the deadline I think I will put it at the pub car park for now,' she added. 'This neighbour was the only one who had an issue with it. The council inspected initially and said they had no issue. 'But she wouldn't let it rest. The neighbour is just so stuck up and doesn't like the way it looked and only cared what people might think. 'But is it the end of a cul de sac and I have to drive in front of her house to get on the drive. You can not see the bus and it is really tucked away. 'She just didn't like the way it looked and instigated complaints.' The neighbour who launched the complaint was unavailable to comment.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Revised plans submitted for Solihull village regeneration
A revised planning application has been lodged for the second phase of a major village regeneration project.A large-scale rejuvenation of Kingshurst, in Solihull, was approved by planners in April 2022, with a projected completion date of completed phase one saw 25 new sustainable social rented homes built on the site of the former Mountfort pub, with residents moving in last two includes plans for a community, health and retail building which will include a GP surgery, a pharmacy, a dentist, a library with a community café and a Co-op convenience store. The applicant, Willmott Dixon, has now applied to amend the planning permission to reflect an updated layout and take into account the loss of trees during a application says the changes will have a "negligible effect" on the a statement included with the application, agents rg+p Limited asked for the changes to be approved "without delay", adding: "The proposal will continue to deliver a new local centre which will provide retail, commercial, business and services, healthcare, local community uses and a hot food take-away."The proposal as whole will continue to deliver 79 high quality residential dwellings in the form of 12 one-bed maisonettes, 5 two-bed houses, 45 three-bed houses, 16 four-bed houses and one vicarage, which will help the council meet the current housing shortfall within the borough.A consultation is underway on the latest application, with people invited to submit comments until 4 June. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Ex-donkey sanctuary sale could earn Leeds City Council £790k
A former animal sanctuary could fetch Leeds City Council more than three quarters of a million pounds after being put up for bosses decided the site, in Eccup, which was formerly run by the Donkey Sanctuary charity and which was closed in August, was surplus to requirements and a sale would raise cash for the authority which must save over £100m this auction site listing said the three-acre (1.2 hectare) property at Swan Lane could raise over £790,000 and the property, which includes an equestrian centre, outdoor arenas, barns and stables, could be redeveloped into council said an auction sale would be quicker than inviting buyers on the open market. 'Prestigious location' A total of 23 donkeys were re-homed after the charity, which leased the site from Leeds City Council since 1998, said rising costs were behind the jobs were lost when the Leeds sanctuary closed, along with sites in Manchester, Birmingham and Ivybridge in to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the listing for the former animal sanctuary, which is near Blackhill Lane and Lineham Farm, stated: "This exceptional site comprises an extensive range of buildings surrounded by some spectacular countryside."The property is set amid the greenbelt in one of the most prestigious locations of West Yorkshire, and is ideally placed to access the vibrant centres of Leeds, Harrogate and York."Pugh Auctions added: "Bramhope village centre, providing a range of local amenities including shops, schools, a public house, sporting and leisure facilities, is close by." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
