WINCHESTER civic chiefs say they are taking action over the worsening state of bins and rubbish sacks in the city centre.

The issue was raised by former city councillor Ian Tait at the Winchester Town Forum last night.

Mr Tait told the meeting: "As someone who spends quite a lot of time in central Winchester, I wanted to point out some issues which I feel deserve urgent attention.

"Some of you will be aware that after many years of campaigning Fiona Mather and I were able to get the city council to implement a commercial refuse policy as previously many businesses simply left their large refuse bins out permanently on the pavement. The new regime forced them to either use the new compounds provide by the council or hold their rubbish inside the premises."

Mr Tait added: "Things have started to slip and Hammonds Passage is going back to its awful past. In the Square there are often bins left out pretty much permanently and across the city centre I regularly see refuse bags littering our pavements. In fact, I’m sad to report that the council’s own building Coitbury House has a whole pile of rubbish bags stacked outside the front door! No one has obviously thought about where the new residents put their rubbish. Hopefully this can be sorted out very quickly."

Cllr Martin Tod, cabinet member for economic recovery, said: "I share Mr Tait's concerns about the bins and have been speaking to city and county officers and retired city officers who improved things in the first place."

He said the system for storing bins and powers to tackle problems of obstruction were still in place: "We will work with the BID to reboot the regime."

Complaints should be made to the county council, he said, and they will write to the businesses not abiding by the rules.

Cllr Kelsie Learney, cabinet member for housing and asset management, said the problem outside Coitbury House had been a lack of drivers in the collection service. The sacks have now been cleared.

Coitbury House was for many years an empty office but has this year been leased for accommodation for key workers.

The Chronicle raised the issue several weeks ago with the bins littering the space in the yard off St George's Street.