Brummies could face more trip hazards and asbestos on streets amid Birmingham City Council cuts

Birmingham residents may soon have to deal with more ‘hazardous waste’ and rodents in their streets, according to a report on the city council’s dreaded wave of proposed budget cuts.

The crisis-hit council published an alarming budget proposal earlier this week, which sets out how it intends to slash services and hike council tax in a bid to tackle a £300 million budget gap.

Within the nearly 300-page document, there are several suggested cuts and changes which will likely directly impact streets, neighbourhoods and communities across the city.

Some of the vast array of proposals relate to waste and cleanliness in particular – including moving to fortnightly bin collections, increasing certain waste charges and ceasing ‘non-statutory’ waste prevention activities.

A separate report, exploring the potential impact on Brummies, worryingly suggests that a reduction in ‘street scene quality’ due to reduced enforcement and engagement could impact residents of all ages due to increased waste on the street.

More dangers from trip hazards and waste on Birmingham streets amid council cuts - warning

It says this could give rise to trip hazards and the presence of hazardous waste such as asbestos. It goes on to say: “Street litter may contain contaminants from discarded drug paraphernalia or vaping containers, potentially harmful if ingested and could prove harmful to unborn children.”

The report also warned that residents living in areas of high occupancy or areas of high deprivation could have issues with “financing a bulky waste collection due to limited funds.”

“Rodents are also likely to be prevalent in these areas due to poor housing,” it continued. This will be exacerbated with the removal of the waste prevention service.”

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The report goes on to say mitigating actions to address such impacts include using ‘intelligence’ to identify where there is a need to revert to weekly collections, where fortnightly collections are not an option, and regularly monitoring the reports of fly tipping in the affected wards.

“This will allow officers to prioritise areas where there is a need for the waste enforcement unit,” it continued. "For example, tasking of various officers to redirect their enforcement, education or cleansing efforts to areas where we see a downward trend in street scene condition.”

It adds another factor is “staff being provided with training within the waste management service to identify problem areas/where there is waste on the street, for example using digital devices.”

Birmingham City Council has ended up in this dire predicament due to a perfect storm of issues including an equal pay fiasco, the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system, rising demand for services and the impact of years of austerity.

Day centres, leisure facilities, youth services, early help and community centres are also impacted by proposed cuts and ‘reviews’ as well as cultural organisation grants, street lights and much more.

While he has previously acknowledged specific Birmingham problems, council leader John Cotton has previously argued that the period of austerity brought in by the Conservative government and “the hollowing out of local government” has played a role in the current situation.

Speaking to the media on Monday, he apologised to residents across the city for the spending reductions and the council tax increase, describing the “savings” contained in the budget proposals as “unprecedented”.

He continued: “The council will continue to face financial pressures as it seeks to meet its wide ranging statutory duties and to protect those residents in the city most in need of support.”