Families living on a new-build estate in Flintshire say they have been left to live surrounded by rubbish for five months, with no bin collections despite paying full council tax.
Residents on the estate say waste has been piling up since they moved in, with bags of household rubbish, recycling and food waste left with nowhere to go. Some have described the situation as living in their own waste, a deeply unpleasant reality for people who bought new homes expecting basic services to be in place from day one.
The core of the frustration is simple. These residents are paying council tax like everyone else in Flintshire, yet they are not receiving one of the most fundamental services that tax is supposed to cover. No collections for five months is not a minor administrative hiccup. For families with young children or people without easy access to transport, getting rid of household waste is not something you can just sort out yourself.
Flintshire County Council has faced questions over why the estate was not brought into the regular bin collection rounds when people started moving in. New-build estates can sometimes fall through the cracks when it comes to local services, particularly if roads have not yet been formally adopted by the council or if the development has not been fully signed off. But residents say they have had little in the way of explanation or a clear timeline for when normal collections will begin.
The issue has sparked real anger in the community. People moved onto the estate expecting a fresh start in a new home, not months of dealing with overflowing rubbish bags and the health concerns that come with waste building up around homes. During warmer months especially, uncollected waste can attract pests and create hygiene problems that go beyond just being an eyesore.
Local councillors have been made aware of the situation and pressure is growing on the council to sort it out quickly. Residents want a concrete answer on when collections will start, and many are also asking whether they will receive any refund or reduction in their council tax bills to reflect the months of missed service.
This is not the first time new-build estates in Wales have faced delays in getting basic council services up and running. Housing developments can move faster than the infrastructure and service planning that needs to follow them, leaving new residents in a kind of administrative limbo. It is a pattern that councils across Wales have been criticised for before, and campaigners say clearer rules are needed to make sure services are guaranteed from the moment the first residents move in.
For now, the people of this Flintshire estate just want their bins emptied. Five months is a long time to wait for something that most people across Wales take completely for granted every single week.