RESIDENTS whose lives have been blighted by piles of stinking refuse near their York flats should finally see an end to their nightmare next week.

Developers say they hope wheelie bins will be delivered early next week to people living at Lodge Farm Gardens, a development of 19 flats off Haxby Road.

Several residents, including David Cox, contacted The Press to complain they had been in the flats since as long ago as last November but had never been given any bins, despite repeated requests.

“This has caused piles of stinking refuse to overflow the refuse storage area,” they said. “This is clearly a health and safety risk, creates a terrible smell and is unsightly. It also ensures that none of the waste is recycled and therefore goes straight to landfill.”

They said it appeared they were innocent bystanders to a dispute between the developer, Huntington Homes (Bramley) Ltd, and City of York Council.

They claimed that the developers had been charged with providing bins as part of planning permission granted in 2008, and residents had paid the developer for the bins, but the council had not been paid and would therefore not supply the bins.

Anthony Rodgers, of Huntington Homes (Bramley) Ltd, said the dispute had been resolved, and he hoped the bins would now be delivered on Monday or Tuesday.

But a City of York Council spokeswoman denied it had been in a dispute, but had just been waiting for payment so it could deliver the bins.

Geoff Derham, head of waste and cleaning services, said all properties at Lodge Farm Gardens had been receiving a regular waste collection service from the authority.

“It is the responsibility of the Lodge Farm Management Company to provide residents with communal bins, as all developers of new domestic properties are required to pay for waste containers,” he said.

“The council is not in a position to provide these containers free of charge. Once payment has cleared we will deliver the bins as soon as possible, which we hope will be next week.”