Residents of the nine-storey council block now face a trip downstairs in the lift to take their rubbish out, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter
A Bullsmoor resident has complained about the removal of a rubbish chute in her building – claiming the move discriminates against people with disabilities.
Liz Douglas, a resident of Brookbank Estate, a nine-floor building managed by Enfield Council in Turkey Street, said changes to the building’s waste management system was affecting people with mobility issues and families with young children.
In June, the council boarded up each chute door on every floor and added new bins to the building’s car park instead.
Liz said a trip to dispose of her rubbish used to be just a few steps to the landing, but now to throw her rubbish away she has to wait for the single lift, make her way outside and walk across the car park to the new bins.
She says the old bin that caught the rubbish at the bottom of the chute is still there, adding to confusion from residents.
Liz lives on the first floor, but suffers from vertigo, has limited walking capacity, and relies on the lift to go to and from the building.
She said: “A few days ago, I really wasn’t well. The caretaker was outside and he let me drop my rubbish out of the window, caught it and put it in the [new] bin for me.”
This was the first time she’d been able to dispose of her rubbish in the month since the rubbish chute removal.
Liz had heard the chute was removed because of “fire risk” concerns. The council has not yet confirmed this.
She said: “They [Enfield Council] are closing down the bin chute because of a fire risk? I’ve been here 40 years, there’s never been a fire risk in the rubbish chute.”
Liz believes the real reason behind the move was because the council didn’t want to spend money to clear the chute each time it got blocked.
She said: “I can’t be the only person who is affected. A stay-at-home mother, with babies, she’s going to have to take her baby out with her every time, unless she waits until she has to go out. It’s not just elderly people and disabled people who have a problem.”
Liz explained that her disability got so bad that previously she sometimes wasn’t able to make it out to the landing to empty rubbish, let alone outside, and that she has no-one around her to help.
She currently doesn’t know how she will manage and added that she doubted the engagement process, where letters were sent out and a Zoom meeting set up, considered “disabled or elderly” residents.
Liz said the council needed to deter people from blocking the chute as the decision to close them had left some residents in the 36-flat block with “no alternatives”.
Update (9th August):
An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “Fire safety is the council’s top priority. To mitigate the risk of a potential fire spreading in the blocks on the Brookbank Estate from the bin store through rubbish chutes, a decision was made by the council to provide external bin store areas and to close the existing bin rooms.
“Residents living on the Brookbank Estate were consulted prior to the works commencing and alternative help can be provided to residents that need it. If any resident has concerns, they are advised to contact their estate management team directly.”
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