Concerns raised over increased litter on Bury St Edmunds’ Moreton Hall estate with suggestions to install more bins

Residents have raised concerns about increased litter on a town estate and suggested that more bins could be the solution.

The concerns were raised during the Moreton Hall Residents’ Association meeting on Monday evening, where residents said there were not enough bins on the Bury St Edmunds estate.

More litter has recently been spotted in several key locations on the estate, including Flying Fortress Park, Suffolk Business Park, the new Sainsbury’s and Sybil Andrews Academy.

Andy McGowan, vice-chair of MHRA, said this could be due to the lack of bins and the increasing number of businesses coming to the estate.

He said: “We have more things being built around Moreton Hall in terms of new shops, which is great, but we need to make sure that things that might seem trivial are tackled.

“The amount of litter on the estate makes a massive difference to how it looks.

“There seems to be a real appetite from residents to improve the appearance of Moreton Hall, but work needs to be done - possibly by adding more bins and ensuring that when businesses come to the estate, litter doesn’t increase.”

SuffolkNews recently reported on one of the problem areas discussed during the meeting.

In October, concerns were raised over a rise in litter following the opening of McDonald’s in Rougham.

In less than a week since its opening, discarded cups and burger packaging were spotted near Rougham Airfield.

Andy said the MHRA hopes to work with the fast-food chain to find possible solutions.

Meanwhile, Andy suspects the litter problem near Flying Fortress Park could have begun during its refurbishment works.

“There used to be a bin on either side of the park entrances,” said Andy. “So no matter which side you entered or exited from, you would pass a bin. However, now one of them is gone, resulting in more rubbish on one side of the park.

“I think the logical thing to consider is what routes people are using.

“If people use two entrances to the park, then it makes sense to have bins on both sides.”

Andy added: “Over the past few months, residents have also raised concerns about litter near the new McDonald’s.

“Whenever a McDonald’s opens a drive-thru anywhere in the country, the response is always about litter - that never changes. I think the concern is about what’s being done to tackle it.

“Do we need patrols near the restaurant, what is McDonald’s role in that and do we need bins in the area?”

During the meeting, Cllr Peter Armitage suggested that a solution to the problem could be installing more bins - something he said he will raise with the town council.

The MHRA’s current plan of action is a litter pick.

The association has organised a litter pick for Sunday, March 16 and anyone interested is encouraged to come to the Moreton Hall Community Centre for 11am.

Although this is currently a one-off event, Andy hopes there will be enough interest to arrange a similar clean-up in the future.