CINDERFORD’S Mayor Councillor Max Coborn is launching a clean up campaign for the town - starting with a blitz on unsightly wheelie bins lining the High Street.

He says the bins are an eyesore, greeting visitors to the town from Steam Mills and giving a bad impression.

But, he maintains they are also dangerous as the very narrow pavements along parts of the High Street mean that mothers with push chairs and people on mobility scooters cannot get past.

He is urging the district council to enforce a by law which prohibits bins being left on the pavement all week.

He says if residents have nowhere to store the bins outside of collection day, they should be replaced with suitable rubbish bags the council already has in stock.

Approaching Cinderford through Steam Mills is an absolute eyesore,” he said.

“We have formed a small working group on the town council to try to improve the appearance of the town.

“And we think the best way to make an immediate improvement is to sort out these wheelie bins.

“We have been urging the district council to enforce an existing by law which covers this and if necessary to replace the bins with rubbish sacks they already have in stock.

“Apart from being unsightly there is also a safety issue. In parts of the High Street the pavement is so narrow that mothers with a pushchair or people using a mobility scooted have to go onto the road.

“There are lots of other areas we need to look at in the long term, such as improving the frontage of some of the properties, but that would involve talking to landlords and owners.

“But getting rid of the wheelie bins would be a start.”

A spokesperson for the Forest of Dean District Council said: “In response to Councillor Max Coborn’s previous request, the Council wrote to all residents in the Steam Mills and High Street area of Cinderford to request that they take their bins back on to their property after collection day and also offered residents the option of switching to beige sack refuse collections, if they had problems storing a wheeled bin on their property.

“Several town centre residents took up the offer of using the beige sacks, but the Council is not minded to force residents to switch to the beige sack refuse collections because storing refuse in wheeled bins is less likely to cause a litter problem, more hygienic and reduces the possibility of pests.

"If residents were forced to take up the beige sack collection option it is likely that this would make the area more unsightly as bags would be left outside properties in between collections and these may be ripped open by animals, which potentially could increase the litter problem rather than reduce it.

“When an issue arose relating to an individual’s bin causing an obstruction, the street warden visited the properties and spoke to residents to help to resolve the matter. Unfortunately due to the nature of the properties (terraced with no back access and flats), residents have no other option than to leave the bins at the front of their properties in between the fortnightly collections.”