Bin storage at a block of flats

[Deleted User]

Not sure if this is the correct board for this question. 

My building has 28 flats, and the bins are currently housed in the basement behind fire doors, but we have now been told they can no longer remain there.
My neighbour let me know that the property management agents have suggested putting the bins out the front, about half a metre to the front door, right underneath the ground floor flats window to the kitchen. 
We are just offset from the main road, so my main concern is that people will see the large communal bins and take it as an invitation to put things in them. 
The smell will be horrible right by the front door and will encourage rats & seagulls (live by the sea). 
The bins have lids, but I'm not sure how the older residents will be able to open the lids etc (as currently, they are permanently open). 

Are there any regulations that could stop this from happening? 
I have put a complaint into the property management agency but it would be nice to back it up with some solid reasoning why they cannot be housed out the front. 
We have the space out the back of the flat block to build a store but would have to lose a parking space. Which personally I would much prefer. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Deleted User]

There shouldn't be any smell from the bins. If there were, then currently storing the bins with open lids in an enclosed room would have driven you all from the building by now.

And the lids aren't that heavy - I think people who couldn't lift them up will be very few and far between.  And you're very unlikely to have people putting things in the bins in any significant quantity.

Whose parking space would be sacrificed for the bin store? That would have a far bigger impact on at least one resident, or all of them if a visitor's space was removed. 

Belenus

Deleted_User said:

...My neighbour let me know that the property management agents have suggested putting the bins out the front, about half a metre to the front door, right underneath the ground floor flats window to the kitchen. 

Check with your local authority or other relevant body to see if that would be permitted.

I would be surprised if there wasn't some regulation covering that as it sounds unpleasant and unhygienic.

Alderbank

Belenus said:

Deleted_User said:

...My neighbour let me know that the property management agents have suggested putting the bins out the front, about half a metre to the front door, right underneath the ground floor flats window to the kitchen. Check with your local authority or other relevant body to see if that would be permitted.

I would be surprised if there wasn't some regulation covering that as it sounds unpleasant and unhygienic.

Yes, there are regulations preventing that. Not so much for hygiene reasons but for fire safety. Wheelie bins are prime targets for arson. They produce toxic smoke when alight. There is a fire safety risk if the bins are near a fire exit but even more of a risk because of toxic fumes entering the building and harming residents.

Part H of the Building regs forbid bin storage near external doors or under windows. Ideally they should be on a windowless wall under a shelter.

another_casualty

If you're not too far from the main road , the threat of drunks coming back from the pub is another thing to be wary of . Plus random occasions when the bins are not put back in the right place ..

[Deleted User]

Thank you, everyone, this has been most useful! I will return to the managing agents with these further points. 

Deleted_User said:

There shouldn't be any smell from the bins. If there were, then currently storing the bins with open lids in an enclosed room would have driven you all from the building by now.

And the lids aren't that heavy - I think people who couldn't lift them up will be very few and far between.  And you're very unlikely to have people putting things in the bins in any significant quantity.

Whose parking space would be sacrificed for the bin store? That would have a far bigger impact on at least one resident, or all of them if a visitor's space was removed. 

With regards to this comment ^ It's in a basement, behind 3 sets of doors at the moment & there is no great smell, but I assume should the bins be moved, in the summer with the outside elements this would be a different story. 
I would hazard a guess that the block of flats I live in is at least 60% elderly, and the bins come up to about throat height, not really the weight, more so that the bin lid would need to be lifted above their head that I was thinking about. 
All of the parking spaces where I live are communal, so it wouldn't be the case that an individual would lose a space, rather that we'd as a collective lose a space, which is a sacrifice I believe most would take. 

FaceHead

Deleted_User said:

All of the parking spaces where I live are communal, so it wouldn't be the case that an individual would lose a space, rather that we'd as a collective lose a space, which is a sacrifice I believe most would take. 

Which surely leaves someone unable to park, or someone's visitor unable to park?

What about the planning permission associated with the development? Usually they have to provide a certain number of parking spaces, or all the roads would turn into (more of) a nightmare.

The planning permission may restrict the re-purposing of a parking space into a bin store. Details should be publicly available. 

Alderbank

There are often restrictions on parking and bin placement to enable fire appliances to access the building day or night.
Your local community fire officer or the person who carried out the fire risk assessment for the premises will be able to advise.