Fines

[Bazile]

Can you be fined by the council for leaving builders bags containing dirt / /rubble , on the pavement outside your house , from work done on your property ?

Would you be given a chance to remove it before a fine is
given ?

[woofgang]

Too many variables to answer. If you think you might need to leave rubble on the pavement, check with your council first. I know that some councils will give skip or hefty bag licences.

[ummmm]

Yes...it's classed a fly tipping. That's according to my daughter-in-law who works for the council.

It's unlikely though if it only stays there a few days.

[Bazile]

ummmm

The bags have been there for a couple of weeks while gardening work is still going on .

This morning , saw that the bags had been moved by
a. n . other and two barriers put in front of them

I assume that it was done by some one from the council
If this is correct , what would the council's next step be ?
Would they levy a fine straightaway or give the owner of the property a notice period to have it removed and if the owner don't comply , then a fine is levied ?

Could you please ask your daughter what is the policy

[Ringlet]

You might have a big problem if someone falls over the bags and injures themselves. Who would be liable for damages in that case?

[woofgang]

So its not you doing it? I think you'd need to phone your own council as policies and practice vary greatly.

[AuntPollyGrey]

How can the council give a fine if they don't know who the bags belonged to? If they thought it was your household they would have contacted you. They probably thought it had been randomly dumped, as in my experience, if they think they know who the rubbish belongs to they advise them to move it by a certain date or incur a fine. I think you'll be ok. However....leaving dumpy bags of rubbish on the pavement outside your home is a bit anti social.

[teacake44]

Most of this is really down to common sense. Most councils will give a little leeway if its obvious that work is being done on a property. But if these bags are full and have served there purpose then they should really be removed within a reasonable time.
Regardless of the above, one should also bear in mind that anything you leave on a public highway, you are responsible for any accident or injury the objects cause, and you should take what ever measures you can to warn of the obstruction, ( hence now the barriers). If the council have to request you to remove them, then they have been there to long in their view, and can look towards a prosecution at any time if they wish. To conclude it is illegal to leave these on the highway without permission, also I believe a skip, unless the skip provider as public insurance, the latter I'm not 100% sure.

[woofgang]

teacake, even with public insurance, I am not sure that all councils allow it without a licence. In Battersea, the licence is (or was) specific to one property and one period of time. When we had my mother's house cleared out, the clearance people used a small skip. They handled getting the permission and had a sign to put on the lamppost where the skip would be placed. It both allowed the company to place the skip there AND suspended the parking to leave room for the skip.

[teacake44]

Yep, I knew there was some restrictions on skips but wasn't sure what. Its been a few years since I had one and even then the skip company asked if I had my own drive to put it on, other than that there would be a problem, as it happened I had, so didn't need to look into other arrangement's.

[The Builder]

Ummm has already confirmed this, but yes.
Eventually, The Council would respond to the inevitable complaints, and remove them themselves, and bill you for that.

Thankfully, common sense still applies.

My personal peeve is the way that, in so many people's minds, cars are given preference over pedestrians, when it should be so obvious that pedestrians should be considered first.

Cars parked halfway across pavements particularly winds me up.
These bags, Baz, should be in the road. Along with most sensible builders, it's what I do.
You can't get a Skip Hire company to drop on a road without a license. They just won't do it. A lot of Councils are quite lenient over this. They look upon the bags as a temporary inconvenience. To leave them for a couple of weeks without a licence is just taking the P.

[The Builder]

^^^^ Oh dear ............. licenCe

Thought I'd get that in before the Polis show up ;o(