By Anna Riley
A KENNEL owner has faced a literal uphill struggle every week for the past eight years – as she has had to pull her bin to the top of a steep road in order for it to be collected.
Kate Meldrum
Due to the poor standard of the road surface on Scholebrook Lane in Pudsey, council refuse trucks and crews are unable to access properties on the lane.
The large bins Kate has been pushing uphill
Kate Meldrum and her neighbours said they have no choice but to move their waste to a bin collection area at the brow of their lane.
Kate said: “I’ve finally decided to make a stand about this issue.
“It has been going on for far too long now and has recently started to affect my business, with customers asking me what I am going to do about the road as they don’t want to drive down it.
“The council won’t do anything about it as they say we live down an unadopted road, but I pay my rates so think I’m more than entitled to better service.
“Money needs to be spent by the council on fixing the road.”
The road Kate has to push her bins along
However, the path is classified as a bridleway and not publically adopted and so the council say that they are not accountable to make improvements to the lane.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “The maintenance and upkeep of Scholebrook Lane for motorised traffic is not the responsibility of the council, but we remain fully committed to ensuring that residents’ bins can still be emptied.
“We have therefore in order to try to find a viable and workable solution, introduced an alternative communal waste and recycling collection point at the meeting of Scholebrook Lane and Bankhouse Lane, which is the only way in and out of Scholebook Lane.
“Residents were kept fully informed of these changes, with the council collecting rubbish from this point since last year.”
The issue has also been raised with Kate’s local MP, Stuart Andrews. Yorkshire Voice is awaiting comment from him.