Bin collections are back on track in Northampton after storm disruption

The refuse collection service was suspended on both Friday and Saturday (2 and 3 March) as sending trucks out would have presented "a risk to both staff and residents", the council says.

The authority also took the decision to postpone garden waste collections until it had caught up with missed black bin and green sack collections.

Councillor Mike Hallam, cabinet member for environment said: “We did our best in some pretty challenging circumstances and we’re very grateful to everyone for their patience.

“We don’t take the decision to suspend collections lightly, but we have to put staff and public safety first.

“Throughout the bad weather, we made sure we offered regular updates on what was happening and the winter weather updates page received an unprecedented number of hits for our website.

“We also received a number of messages about gritting which, while it is not our responsibility, we referred on to colleagues at Northamptonshire County Council.

"I do know that gritters were out day and night throughout the extremely cold weather as the county council did it's level best to keep major routes open."

One of the potential consequences of the snow and ice is an increase in the severity of potholes – a Northamptonshire County Council responsibility.

Councillor Anna King, Borough Council cabinet member for community safety and engagement said: “We would urge everyone to take extra care on the roads following the extreme weather we’ve experienced.

“We expect to be inundated with reports of potholes and will certainly pass those on to colleagues at Northamptonshire County Council, but we would urge people to make their reports through the Street Doctor page instead.”

Reports about potholes and many other highway-related issues can be made via the Street Doctor page on the county council’s {website http://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/northamptonshire-highways/roads-and-streets/Pages/report-highway-problem.aspx| here|}