LIBERAL Democrats on Bath and North East Somerset Council have said that the centre of Bath has been “blighted by sacks of waste” in the early evening for too long as they pursue a controversial change to business bin collections.

Shops and businesses in the city centre currently have to wait until 5pm before they can put their bins out for the evening business waste collection.

From September, this will move to 6pm as part of a year-long pilot by Liberal Democrat-run Bath and North East Somerset Council — despite that being after many shops have shut.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “This pilot scheme is being brought in to make the experience for residents and visitors better, which in turn benefits businesses. For too long, early evenings have been blighted by sacks of waste spilling over the pavements, and gulls feasting on whatever they can.

“By consolidating the time the waste collectors can operate with the hours of operation of the city centre security bollards, there will not be queues of lorries waiting to get in the area.”

But 93 per cent of businesses who responded to the consultation on the plans are opposed to it. For shops that shut at 5pm, it will mean paying someone to stick around for another hour to put the bins out. The council’s own analysis says this could cost businesses just over £3,000 a year.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “There will always be a few businesses resistant to change, but like any other council in charge of a highly prestigious city like Bath, we have to ensure we keep the environment as attractive as possible to all.”

The council issued a single member decision by council cabinet member resources Mark Elliott on July 2 to bring in the change in timings for a trial year, beginning in September. Opposition councillors are calling-in the plans, meaning the proposal will now go before a council scrutiny panel.

Out of 1,126 businesses identified, just 87 responded to the consultation.

Of the businesses that responded, 72 per cent of them said that the extra cost of paying staff to stay later just to deal with waste was “unfair/unaffordable.”

The council’s consultation report warned: “The consultation has shown that small businesses could be detrimentally affected by a change in permitted collection times during a period of economic challenge.

“There is also a risk that this change in policy could undermine the progress made in improving the public realm in recent years, particularly if it results in business waste bags being left unattended for extended periods.”

At the same time, the pilot also trials a requirement for businesses to label their waste with their company name and address and for them to use reusable rubbish bags instead of single use sacks, where they can be collected and returned to the shop after the collection.

Seventy-six per cent of businesses responding to the consultation supported labelling waste and 69 per cent supported the use of reusable waste sacks.