Beauty spots relax rule on having bin stores

PLANNING laws in beauty spots are to be relaxed under government plans to tackle the nation’s “bin blight”.

The Government is consulting on allowing homeowners in conservation areas and national parks to build stores in their front gardens without planning permission, amid concerns wheelie bins are increasingly littering streets.

Under the current rules households are not allowed to erect bin or bike stores in their front gardens without the permission of the local authority.

The rules apply in conservation areas, areas of outstanding natural beauty, national parks and world heritage sites. They particularly affect houses without a rear garden or with limited rear access, such as terraced houses.

In a consultation launched by Michael Gove’s Levelling Up Department, it said: “This can lead to bin blight with wheelie bins dominating front gardens and impacting on residential streets.”

Britain’s streets have become increasingly cluttered up with wheelie bins due to complicated recycling rules, overcrowded cities and more recently bin collection strikes.

In Bristol, residents have been forced to separate their rubbish into 13 different bags under the council’s strict recycling rules, with waste containers and bags piling up residential streets.

There was outrage in the New Forest in 2022 when wheelie wins were introduced as part of efforts to improve recycling rates, with councillors warning they would clutter up villages.

Sarah Lee, of the Countryside Alliance, said the organisation welcomed the changes, saying they would improve the amenity of local areas and create better access on pavements.

“We must all do our bit in disposing of our waste appropriately, but for years poorly positioned wheelie bins and multiple bins have marred many streets,” she said. “Unsightly bin clutter has detracted from the beauty of the surroundings... so it is time that we made our communities cleaner.”

The Government proposals suggest such bin and bike stores can only be built in front gardens if they are below two metres in width, one metre in depth and one and half metres in height.

The plans emerged as part of a wider consultation into permitted development rights, which propose allowing households to more easily extend homes without planning permission. The Government is seeking views on how to speed up the approval process.

In September 2023, Rishi Sunak scrapped plans for households to use seven rubbish and recycling bins. Councils had warned the plans could prove costly and lead to a drop in recycling rates.

It has since announced plan to standardise recycling from 2026.