Large amounts of dog waste have been dumped on Hollingbury Golf Club in Brighton – close to an Iron Age hillfort – after Brighton & Hove City council relocated a nearby bin because its new multi-million pound fleet is “not designed for off-road driving”.
According to an email to residents from a council employee, the contents would also have been too heavy for bin men to carry back to the road without risking “musculo-skeletal injuries”.
In May, a council committee agreed to spend up to £2.5m a year on low-emission refuse vehicles until 2030, when it plans to end its reliance on petrol and diesel.
It decided to buy four electric bin lorries – valued at £580,000 each – the same month, with one councillor hailing the move as an “investment in the long-term both environmentally and financially”.
John O’Connell, head of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “This has all the hallmarks of a council binge that fails to deliver results for taxpayers.
“While residents have been scrimping and saving, local bureaucrats have been asleep at the wheel. Brighton & Hove council needs to urgently get control of this project and ensure it doesn’t turn into yet another white elephant.”
Read more: Green council’s new electric rubbish trucks leave bins overflowing
