Dear Editor,

We've been battling Richmond Council for over a year to install bins for the flats that don't have enough space outside.

Every Wednesday, the junction of London Road and March Road is littered with trash because of this oversight. 

Rubbish from bin bags spread across the junction on March Road and London Road, Twickenham (credit: image supplied).

The council approved the construction of new flats on top of existing flats without considering proper bin allocation, leading to a consistent trash problem every Wednesday morning.

While the council cleans up around 10am, broken glass is often left behind, posing a hazard to small children, pets, and others walking in the area. It's unhygienic and unsafe.

I've seen school children avoiding litter on their way to class—not a pleasant sight.

A school boy walking past the litter (credit: Image supplied).

There are bins near Heatham House, but residents of the flats from the corner of London Road and Whitton road don't seem be using them.

Those of us living nearby, including London Road, March Road, Cole Park Road, Latham Road, and Whitton Road, are fed up with the lack of responsibility from the council and the residents of the flats regarding the ongoing neglect of this serious issue. 

Some comments from our street Whatsapp: "It makes me so angry every Wednesday, it's genuinely hard to comprehend how they are fine with other people clearing up their poorly disposed of rubbish and I honestly don't know how to explain it to the children every week when we have to walk through it! Thank you to everyone who is helping with this."

"Really inefficient use of council tax funds along with being unhygienic, encouraging vermin and leaving dangerous broken glass for kids and residents."

Cars and residents pass litter at the junction of March Road and London Road (credit: Image supplied).

"When they leave their home and go, that's my mess right there in my road outside my door! The council used to spot fine people for littering so surely a fine is due here to compensate for the workers being diverted from other duties"

"They (the council) do clean it up each week but it's not a great use of resources and inevitably there is always glass left behind. It's just a ridiculous situation that could be resolved"

"We have complained about this issue countless times. When I called the council last week to follow up they told me the residents are putting the waste out in the correct way and that we would need to get in touch with them ourselves and ask them to install some bins."

Richmond Council reports that street cleaners have cleared the litter and the flats in question have been informed to dispose of waste properly (credit: Image supplied).

A reply from the council to one of our neighbours: "Hi XX

Thanks for your e-mail. Sorry to see the images - I agree it's not acceptable to have this every week.

Looking at the pictures, it seems as if most are from the area outside 111-113 London Road and the junction with March Road.

There is a specific issue here, where residents are putting rubbish out on the road on a Tuesday night and, because it is just in plastic bags, it is getting taken apart by wildlife.  

The council does send people to clear up on Wednesdays but there is a lot of rubbish in the morning from the night before.

The council have written to the residents to highlight that they are not allowed to put rubbish on the high street in bags like this the night before. We have also looked into what can be done to support them through the introduction of a space for sealed bins. I will follow up to see where we are with this. In the meantime, there is an ongoing request for the area to be cleaned each week after collection time.

Let me know if I have missed any photos of other areas where there is an issue. I will let you know when I hear back regarding the prevention."

Francoise Benke,

Twickenham resident.

We want to provide Twickenham with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.

Follow us on Facebook , Instagram and X to stay updated on the latest news in your area. Don't miss out!