Christmas and New Year Waste and Recycling Collections 2023/2024

Waste and recycling (including clinical waste) collections will change during the weeks beginning 25 December 2023, 1 January 2024 and 8 January 2024. Collections will be up to 4 days later than usual.

Collections will return to normal from Monday 15 January 2024. Please remember to put your bins out by 6am on your collection day.

You can check your collection dates on the Croydon Council website here.

Croydon Council will be collecting your unwanted real Christmas trees from Monday 8 January 2023. Click here for more information.

Click here for the 2023/2024 Christmas Recycling Newsletter (PDF, 5.33MB)

Have your say on Dog Control in Bromley

As part of the ongoing campaign for Responsible Dog Ownership, Bromley Council is keen to hear your thoughts on their new Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) proposals, which are due for renewal. While most of the proposed guidelines will remain the same as the current Order, the Council have advised that updates to the current system are needed, which they are looking for your feedback on.

This consultation is to ask residents to share their views on a new proposed Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for Bromley.

These proposals give the Council the powers to issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling, as is currently the case, and means that dogs should be on a lead in certain places, including notably, on the ‘highway’, i.e. in the street.

Dogs would also be excluded from areas in parks such as children’s play areas, much like they are now. Currently, a permit or licence is required for commercial and residential dogs walkers to walk a maximum of 6 dogs (up to 4 dogs without a licence) at any one time. With these new proposals, this number will be reduced to 4 dogs (3 without a licence) with no more than 2 dogs off a lead at any one time.

These proposals are designed to help ensure that dog walkers can properly control their dogs, including when off lead, and can attend and clear up any dog mess. The proposals look to minimise dog-related antisocial behaviour incidents and place high emphasis on dog welfare concerns, and are in line with guidance from the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, and others to professional dog walkers.

Under the current (2020-23) Dog Control PSPO Order:

  • You may walk no more than 4 dogs without a permit, and up to 6 dogs with a permit (no limit on dogs off or on lead)
  • Dogs to be walked on a lead, identified with designated areas
  • Dog exclusion areas identified with designated areas as equipped and unequipped playgrounds, enclosed/fenced sports facilities, paddling pools, boating ponds, areas within recreation grounds.

Under new (2023-26) proposals:

  • You may walk up to 3 dogs without a permit and up to 4 dogs with a permit (2 of those dogs can be off lead at any time in permitted areas).
  • Retaining the same approach to keeping dogs on leads on the public highway and car parks, excluding dogs from children’s play areas, and from other designated areas within greenspaces. The new proposal is to extend the ‘dog on lead’ designated areas to include cemeteries, allotments, water bodies, and café seating areas.

Elements remaining the same:

  • Offences for dog fouling will continue to apply across the Borough
  • Dogs to be put on leads when instructed by an officer
  • Fixed Penalty Notices of £100 may be issued where evidence arises, where someone has not complied with reasonable instructions to picking up dog waste or removing a dog from a restricted area.

Please fill out the survey at www.bromley.govuk/consultation

The consultation closes on Wednesday 31 May 2023.

UK Emergency Alert System Test – April 23

A UK-wide emergency alert service is being tested at 3.00pm on Sunday 23 April.

The alerts will be sent directly to mobile phones across the UK to warn people about life-threatening events such as wildfires and severe flooding, the government has said.

The government said that the alerts will be secure, free to receive, and will not reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.

What happens when you get an emergency alert

Your mobile phone or tablet may:

  • make a loud siren-like sound, even if it’s set on silent
  • vibrate
  • read out the alert

The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

An alert will include a phone number or a link to the GOV.UK website for more information.

You’ll get alerts based on your current location – not where you live or work. You do not need to turn on location services to receive alerts.

What you need to do

When you get an alert, stop what you’re doing and follow the instructions in the alert.

If you’re driving or riding when you get an alert

  • You should not read or otherwise respond to an emergency alert whilst driving or riding a motorcycle.
  • If you are driving, you should continue to drive and not respond to the noise or attempt to pick up the mobile phone and deal with the message.
  • Find somewhere safe and legal to stop before reading the message. If there is nowhere safe or legal to stop close by, and nobody else is in the vehicle to read the alert, tune into live radio and wait for bulletins until you can find somewhere safe and legal to stop.

It is illegal to use a hand-held device while driving or riding.

People who have their phones switched off will not receive the message – but it will sound if your phone is switched to silent.

It is possible to turn the alerts off, something domestic abuse charity Refuge is advising vulnerable people how to do ahead of the test.

For more information, visit the Government Emergency Alert website.

 

Power for People – February 2023 Update

A new Government-published report – the ‘Net Zero Review’ – has backed exactly what we are campaigning for. Its leading recommendation for more clean community energy: “Government should commit to the Local Electricity Bill.”

It says: “Current regulations in the energy market mean that community energy projects cannot directly supply local communities, an issue which the Local Electricity Bill seeks to address.”

But despite this Government-published report recommending that they themselves support the Bill, they continue to say it is not needed.

Active advocacy in Parliament by our MPs can help change the Government’s mind. We have seen that local constituents meeting with their MP is a very effective way of creating this.

Will you please meet with your MP? We will support and guide you with the organising and provide a briefing to help you feel confident and prepared. You do not need to be an expert on the issue. I can come along with you too, which has worked well when other supporters have met with their MPs.

Please click here if you are interested.

This campaign has come so far in building support to over 300 MPs. Let’s keep the momentum going so that we can enable communities to take control of local clean energy generation.

Together we can transform things.