‘Protect our city’s image’ says Chamber after council declares major incident

Business leaders today called for a swift and amicable resolution to Birmingham’s ongoing bin strike to protect the reputation of the city.

It comes after Birmingham City Council yesterday declared a major incident in response to concerns for public health.

The declaration means the council can increase its street cleaning operation and fly-tipping removal, by bringing in an extra 35 vehicles and crews.

The bin strike has left 17,000 tonnes of waste on the streets.

It has also led to negative headlines about Birmingham in the national media which Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce say will make the city “less attractive” to visitors and investors.

Unite union members have been on all-out strike since 11 March in a row over pay.

“Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service's contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets,” said city council leader Cllr John Cotton.

The issue has also been raised in the House of Commons, with the government saying it was “monitoring the situation closely”.

Raj Kandola (pictured), director of external affairs at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “Despite some of the recent negative headlines in the media, there is so much good happening in Birmingham.

“Yet, the ongoing bin dispute and the volume of rubbish on the streets is undoubtedly harming the image of the city and making it less attractive for residents, visitors and businesses.

“The longer this goes on, the less attractive our city will become to investors and also reinforces the negative stereotypes we have seen peddled in the national media.

“We would urge Birmingham City Council and the unions to resolve the situation as soon as possible in order to protect Birmingham’s image as a great place to live, visit and do business.”