Kerbside bin collections improving

KERBSIDE bin collections are gradually getting back to normal, according to Derbyshire Dales District Council, which has been struggling with Covid-related staff shortages and problems caused by snow and ice.

Crews have been working extra shifts to catch up on missed collections in the district, but garden waste and bulky waste collections remain suspended.

While the crews managed to catch up on a majority of their missed rounds last week, a handful remain uncollected due to snow and ice.

The district council says these will now not be collected until their next scheduled date.

Collections were missed in some areas on Monday, but the crews were due to head out and catch up on them yesterday.

These included the round in Ednaston, which was inaccessible due to a road closure.

The sheer volume of recycling that has built up is now affecting other rounds, although at this stage mainly in the north of the district.

WIRKSWORTH’S former Black’s Head pub has been given a new name, after its owners invited townsfolk to choose a replacement for its last title, which was said to have racist connotations.

Brewing company Greene King said thousands of people came forward to re-name four of its pubs - one of them located in Wirksworth’s West End - and it will now be called The Quarryman.

Greene King said it wanted a name change as part of its “inclusion and diversity strategy” and to support people from minority ethnic backgrounds. The pub company also invited people to vote for the boozer’s new name.

It is hoped the new name provides a “positive change for the better”.

Nick Mackenzie, chief executive officer of Greene King, said last month: “We have looked at pub deeds, consulted with colleagues and while the origins of these pub names are obscure what is clear is that there is a perception that they are linked with racism today and we want to make this positive change for the better.”