Calls for communal bins to be scrapped across the Canterbury district have intensified as frustrated residents brand them “not fit for purpose”.

Last week, KentOnline told how residents in Jesuit Close, fear for their health due to the piling up of rubbish outside their shared waste store.

Since the report, council tenants in homes across the district have since made contact, detailing problems with missed collections.

But Canterbury City Council says the controversial bins are here to stay as they are an important fire safety measure, which help prevent a repeat of the Grenfell tragedy.

The authority admits it knows people are against the set-up, and says it needs to have better communication with tenants to explain why they can’t each have their own wheelie bin.

Responding to the disgruntled residents, council spokesman Leo Whitlock said: “We’re sorry to those tenants who use communal bins and have not had them emptied.

“While we recognise some tenants are opposed to the use of communal bin stores and prefer their own bin, this is an important fire safety measure.

“Since the Grenfell tragedy, the fire risk assessments carried out by our independent experts have never been so important and they have identified the need to move bins away from people’s homes, and to limit the risk of a bin fire to just one location that is easy to reach for emergency crews. The more bins dotted around, the higher the risks.

“We recognise we need to do more to talk to tenants and explain why these changes, based on the advice of the experts, have to be made.”

Council-run Canenco took over the reins from Serco earlier this year, but with many residents complaining of missed collections, there has not yet been a dramatic improvement in service.

Labour leader Cllr Dave Wilson says the communal bins are placed in very awkward positions for tenants to use.

“The root cause is that these bins have been sited not for the convenience of residents but to be easier for the refuse collection lorries to get to,” he said.

“Worse, far too often the bin stores are too small for the number of flats using them. And the signing for recycling is virtually non-existent.

“On top of that, many of these stores have become routine dumping grounds for fly-tipping, which not only makes the sites unsightly but poses a safety and health risk.

“In short, these bin stores are not fit for purpose.

“The council has supposedly allocated funds to replace them.

“It’s about time they got on with it.”

His views are echoed by fellow Labour councillor Mel Dawkins, who said: “They are getting full too quickly and quite often are positioned in the baking sun, so that the rubbish becomes contaminated and smells.

“It isn’t good enough that some parts of Canterbury are not getting the service that other areas are.”

The council says anyone with a collection issue should report the problem by visiting canterbury.gov.uk and searching for ‘missed bin’.

If it is a regular problem, they should email the Canenco helpdesk help@canen.co or call them on 01227 947 860.

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