Frequently Asked Questions

Refuse and brown and green recycling bags are collected from your property on a weekly basis. Garden waste and glass recycling (if you have a collection on your road) are collected on a fortnightly basis.

The refuse and recycling webpage will tell you when your next collection is. Alternatively, you can contact Customer Services: 40 Bell Street, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 1AD Tel: (0116) 288 8961.

Collection of larger items should be booked in with Customer Services as a separate collection. This will not be taken with any other collection.

There are several different types of Buildings Regulations application that can be made, however they are not all suitable for every situation. There are three ways in which applications can be made to the Council.

You can learn more at https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval/how-to-apply

Please note that when submitting a Building Regulations application a fee will be payable, more information on our fees can be found within our schedule of charges.

Once the fee has been paid, we will reply within 5 working days. In most cases this will be a full response but if we need more time for this, we will let you know.

£62.40 including VAT, for a single property.

Payment can be accepted by cash - only at the main Council Offices and by cheque - at our Customer Service Centre or by post. Payment can be made by card either online using our payment web page or over the telephone on Leicester (0116) 257 2850. You will need your invoice reference number when making a payment.

Oadby Waste Site (tip) is operated by Leicestershire County Council. For opening times and more information, please visit the Leicestershire County Council website.

You can tell us if you have any information that could lead our officers to witness an offence.

You can tell us if you can identify anyone who does not clear up after their dog.

You can give us a witness statement if you have seen an offence.

If you think a new dog bin or more dog bins will help, please let us know where you think they should be put.

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are the large, furry bees that you will see flying on their own in your garden.

Their colonies can be found in places such as compost heaps, banks under hedges and beneath garden decking. The nest is a ball of vegetation with wax cells inside it and usually contains no more than 150 bees.

Bumble bees are unlikely to sting unless you touch them or disturb their nest, in which case they will want to defend themselves from what they see as an attack.

After the summer, bumble bees die out and only the females survive by finding a suitable place to spend the winter so they can start new colonies in the spring.

If you see a swarm of bees in this country, you can be sure they are not bumble bees, as bumble bees do not swarm.

Honey bees

In this country, honey bees are the only type of bee that will swarm.

A swarm is a ball of bees, the size of a football or larger, that will move from place to place looking for a suitable place to nest. This can be a space such as a hollow in a tree or in a cavity in a building.

This usually happens during May, June and July.

Swarms can be found in trees, on buildings and around chimneys. If they are left alone they usually present no serious risk to humans or animals.

If a swarm settles and remains outside, you can contact a bee keeper who may be prepared to collect the swarm from you.

The simplest way to prevent a nest being established in buildings on your land is to make sure brickwork and pointing is in good condition, so there is no way for the bees to get into cavities of your buildings.

Masonry bees

Masonry bees, or mortar bees, are a similar colour to honey bees but they do not swarm.

Their natural habitat is in earth banks or soft exposed rocks, but they can tunnel into soft mortar joints of buildings, which is how they get their name.

Although they are harmless to human health as they cannot successfully sting humans, they can cause significant damage to a building over a number of years.

The best way of dealing with this is to make sure you keep the pointing and brickwork of your property well maintained and in good condition.

Contaminated land if defined in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as "any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in or under the land, that significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused, or pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be caused".

It is important to note that land that does not fit the legal definition of contaminated land may still be affected by contaminants.

In Oadby and Wigston it is the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. This makes dog fouling an offence unless the person in charge of the dog clears up immediately.

There is an exception for registered blind people who are in charge of a guide dog.

Anyone who does not clear up may be liable to a fixed penalty fine, currently set at £50.00.

We can increase our street cleaning patrols in problem areas.

We can consider installing a dog waste bin, or more bins, in areas of concern. Let us know where you think a new dog bin might help.

It will tell you the information that the council holds with regard to the condition of a piece of land in relation to any potential contaminant. This will be factual information only. You should ask a specialist environmental consultant if you require interpretation of the information we give you.