A popular tourist destination is considering fining residents who leave their bins on the street, arguing  the unsightly clutter is ruining the ‘Instagrammable’ aesthetic for visiting influencers and holidaymakers. 

New rules could see households in Tewkesbury punished if they fail to remove their wheelie bins from the street.

It follows a petition by Tewkesbury Civic Society raising concerns about ‘bin blight’ in the town’s historic conservation area.

The society argued that unsightly bins left out on the pavement reduce property values and create obstacles for wheelchair and pram users.

And it says it stops tourists from taking the pretty, ‘Instagrammable’ pictures they come to the Gloucestershire market town on the edge of the Cotswolds for.

Now a six-month pilot scheme is being proposed where written warnings would be issued to households that repeatedly leave bins out after collection.

A council working group has recommended changing existing guidance from a ‘request’ to a ‘requirement’ that bins are removed from the street after collection.

This system could eventually see persistent offenders fined.

Tewkesbury Civic Society Chair Alan Purkiss (pictured) claims that the town’s conservation area is being ‘severely degraded’ by domestic bins

Mr Purkiss says the bins stop tourists from taking the pretty, ‘Instagrammable’ pictures they come to the Gloucestershire market town on the edge of the Cotswolds for

Tewkesbury Civic Society want to fine residents who don’t put their bins away, as a six-month pilot scheme is being proposed where written warnings would be issued to households that repeatedly leave bins out after collection

Civic Society Chair Alan Purkiss said that despite it being difficult to quantify the impact of the bins, he is ‘confident’ that property values, inward investment, business and tourism are all affected by them

Tewkesbury Civic Society Chair Alan Purkiss said that the town’s conservation area is being ‘severely degraded’ by domestic bins.

He added that, despite being difficult to quantify, he is ‘confident’ that property values, inward investment, business and tourism are all affected by it.

Mr Purkiss said: ‘It’s a lovely old town.

‘But if you’re disabled, in a wheelchair, or a buggy, you can’t get past sometimes due to the bins.

‘You can’t get past sometimes, particularly in the alleys, which are narrow.

‘I know people who actually threatened to leave the area, because they were sick and tired of coming out of the front door and the first thing they saw was bins outside.

‘There is an economic effect on property values which is hard to measure, but it’s definitely there.

‘Business people in the town say that their business is being affected by those bins outside their houses.

‘People come to tell me that they’ve been approached by visitors saying ‘it’s a pity about the bins’.

‘We are encouraging the borough to do what other local authorities have done.

‘You wouldn’t really want to have a row of bins if you were photographing here, would this be the kind of background you want?

‘I live in an area which is much photographed down by the Abbey Mill. Half-timbered, black and white house, which is 600 years old.

‘Now, if I put a row of bins out the front, do you think the council would photograph it and use it as an advertising slogan? Or logo? No, I don’t think so.

‘We’re talking about a very small minority of people, but a very visible minority of people, to keep their bins off the street.

‘It would be the same as getting a fine for spitting, dog fouling, graffitiing, littering, all those things which are already on a fixed penalty notice.

‘Now, people would genuinely say, in some of those cases, they haven’t got anywhere to store them in.

‘Well, that’s where the blue bag policy comes in, which is really not enforced, well enough.’

He added: ‘It is an unhealthy, unpleasant thing and that should be recognised and valued.

‘If necessary, money should be spent on correcting that.

‘The committee has decided to put it either to the full council or the exec, and hopefully they will, but it’ll be that body that decides whether they can afford it or not.

‘I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that the council decides that they’re going to give it a proper go. I mean, they could kill it at the next hurdle.

‘But just look across the border at the Cotswolds, they do it there, as a matter of course. It’s easy peasy.’

Resident Angela Hanbury, 65, said: ‘Lots of people don’t collect them [bins] so they could be out there for days.

‘They are horrible, especially in the summer, they stink. It just makes the town smell.’

A local resident said: ‘Lots of people don’t collect them [bins] so they could be out there for days’

Councillor Murray Stewart, lead member for environmental services  at Tewkesbury Borough Council said: ‘It’s proposed for a six-month trial and would need dedicated resources to work directly with households where bins are not being taken in’

Regarding fines, she added: ‘I think it’s great because the bins are in the way of people and a lot of people come here and retire as well, so there are a lot of older people around here and they’re in the way.

‘It takes a minute to go up and get a bin and clear it away, doesn’t it? Make the town so much nicer and cleaner.

‘We have lots and lots of visitors in the summer, and they’re horrible to look for them as well.’

Retired architect and local Marty Trembath, 71, said: ‘I hate all the bins.

‘If you look at every town, city, village, in this country, what do you see? Green, purple, blue bins and then the whole pile of other bins – it’s just rubbish, it’s all American.

‘It’s just laziness. It affects the look of the town centre. If you come as a tourist, why do you want to see bins everywhere?

‘It’s just ugly. Full stop. I live in Liverpool part of the time of the year, and they’ve got purple ones, and they’re really ugly. But here, you’ve got blue and green ones.’

Kamila Pavlova, 45, a local and a doctor, said she believes the proposal is ‘nonsense’ because she doesn’t have anyone to take the bins out of the street when she is at work.

Councillor Murray Stewart, lead member for environmental services, at Tewkesbury Borough Council said: ‘We will be working with residents first to understand their specific challenges, which we can then take forward.

‘It’s proposed for a six-month trial and would need dedicated resources to work directly with households where bins are not being taken in, with support and education.

‘Any enforcement measures could come later and only if agreed.

‘They’re not part of the initial six-month phase.

‘It would be a last resort, but we’re making it clear to members of the public that it could be an avenue we explore.’

A final decision will be made once a fully costed plan is submitted to the full council.