The wands block the way in

SUPPORTERS of new cycle lanes and wider pavements have praised the council for being able to act so fast, but perhaps it was a case of more haste less speed with one of the projects in Kentish Town.

Bungling contractors installed new “wands” – a form of bollard – right in front of the access gate at Penshurst in Prince of Wales Road. The botched choice of location meant refuse collectors were unable to get onto the estate to collect the rubbish, leaving residents’ bins overflowing last week.

The council has since apologised for the chaos and gone back to relocate the wands.

Resident Louisa St George said: “It doesn’t help the rat problem we have had for six months now. The bins were overflowing, and it was pretty horrendous.”

Rubbish piles up while refuse collectors can’t get into the estate

The rubbish had not been collected for over a week after the new cycle lane was installed, part of a series of measures to make cycling and walking safer after lockdown.

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately as part of the council’s cycling improvements to Prince of Wales Road some cycle lane ‘wands’ were mistakenly installed in front of the gated access to Penshurst. Our highways contractor have removed these and all residents’ outstanding recycling and waste was collected as soon as possible.

“The removal of the wands will enable future collections to also take place. We would like to apologise to the residents of Penshurst for any inconvenience this has caused.”