A councillor has successfully led a local campaign to reinstate dog waste bins in a High Wycombe park after their removal prompted ‘disgusting’ dumping in a nearby stream.

Two of the red bins disappeared from Hughenden Park at the end of July, with their absence almost immediately causing an overflow of the two remaining dog refuse spots and general public bins – some of which are close to benches popular among walkers popping over from the bordering National Trust estate.

Residents took to social media to share their grievances as the number of littered knotted bags continued to grow over the following days – with some left dumped in corners of the grassy area and others spotted floating down the Hughenden Stream after presumably being thrown in by dog walkers in lieu of a more convenient option.

The persistent nature of the fouling – with some bags only half-heartedly knotted and spilling out into the waterway or onto the grass – led some locals to dub it ‘bin-gate’ and put pressure on councillors to find a solution to the problem.

That answer came in the form of Cllr Maz Hussain, of the Downley ward, who took on the cause at the end of last month, meeting with concerned residents, walking around the park to ascertain the most popular littering spots and promising to clamp down on the “disgusting behaviour” of those throwing their used bags into the stream and around the parkland.

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And last week, Cllr Hussain succeeded in pressing Buckinghamshire Council to make headway with installing new dog bins in the area – securing assurance that two would be put in littering hotspots by last Friday, August 16, with a larger one in the pipeline to replace the bin at Coates Lane car park and a further two to make an appearance in due course. 

Sharing the good news with fellow campaigners on Facebook, he described the accomplishment as a “team effort to keep the park and stream from being totally spoiled” and thanked both those who had kept him in the loop about the issues and who had “mucked in” themselves to fish stray bags out of the water.

Among the messages of happiness and relief from walkers sick of spotting piles of smelly bags while out getting some fresh air, he added: “Working together, we can achieve the outcome we’re hoping for, no matter how big or small the issue."