Welcome to Auckland Drive BinGate
This site is a resident-led guide to the Auckland Drive bin changes in Brighton & Hove. If you’ve just scanned the QR code, start here for a short summary, the full timeline, and the source documents behind every claim.
Why this matters:
The council says it explored several alternatives before choosing communal bins.
FOI documents and internal reports raise questions about consultation, safety, and what happens to people who rely on assisted bin collections.
If you live on Auckland Drive, Norwich Drive or another street with homes on an incline, decisions made here could influence what happens on your road in future.
For short, plain‑English explainers on these issues, see the posts on the Blog, including:
– Why this scheme matters beyond Auckland Drive
– Assisted collections: what Auckland Drive residents were told
If you’re worried about how these changes will affect you, you can use our tool to help you generate a complaint to the Council.
Tell The Council How This Affects You
Update on assisted collections: Earlier FOI emails raised concerns about whether assisted collections would continue under a communal-bin scheme. The council’s Corporate Director for City Operations has now confirmed in writing that residents who need an assisted collection “will be provided with one.”
Media enquiries, please contact: info@bingate.bevendean.info
Over many months, Environmental Services has sought to implement this change. When residents challenged the decision, the internal complaints process, in our view, failed to grapple with the key evidence. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, we have obtained documents which, we believe, tell a different story from the one presented publicly.
Based on those documents, we say that:
Consultation did not feel genuinely open‑minded. Internal emails describe the communal bins as effectively a “done deal” before residents were asked for their views, and show letters being amended so that people would be less likely to “worry” about what was already planned.
Expert safety warnings were downplayed. The Council’s own Highways team warned that placing large bins in the live carriageway could create “hazards” and “obstructions”, including the risk of the road being blocked and poor night‑time visibility. Despite this, Environmental Services continued to favour this option.
The impact on vulnerable residents and assisted collections was under‑assessed. While public letters referred to “arrangements” for those needing help, FOI material shows internal discussions about moving away from Assisted Collections on Auckland Drive, with no clear evidence that a full Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) was carried out before decisions were taken. The council’s Corporate Director for City Operations has since confirmed in writing that residents who need an assisted collection “will be provided with one.”
Where we stand now
We have taken the matter beyond the Council’s own complaints process. A detailed evidence dossier has been submitted to the independent Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), and a complaint about maladministration is currently awaiting formal investigation.
Despite this, the Council is still seeking to proceed with the communal bin rollout on Auckland Drive.
Explore the evidence
This website exists to scrutinise and explain the decision‑making around Auckland Drive. Use the navigation to explore:
– The Full Timeline: a chronological breakdown of the Council’s actions and the community response.
– The Evidence Archive: key FOI emails, safety reports, and official letters, so you can read the source material yourself.
– Blog: short posts on assisted collections, safety, and why this scheme matters for other streets.
We believe elected members and officers are accountable to residents – not the other way around
