Cheshire East Council’s “engagement” with the public about the new charge for garden waste collection poses more questions than answers, the opposition leader has said.
The council agreed at its budget meeting in February to introduce charges for garden/food waste bin collection and is hoping to rake in up to £4m when the scheme comes into operation.
But three months later and residents are still in the dark over how much the charge will be and when it will come into force.
Cllr Mick Warren, chair of environment and communities committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last week: “The council has begun engagement with the public in relation to plans to introduce a subscription service for residents who would like us to continue collecting their garden waste.
“We will continue to share more information about how the service will work over the coming months.
“Further details about this proposal – which was agreed as part of the council’s medium-term financial strategy (MTFS) for 2023/24 to 2026/27 – will also be considered by the council’s environment and communities committee in summer this year.”
The “engagement” is a webpage here https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/waste_and_recycling/bins/garden-bin-subscription.aspx
The matter is further complicated because new waste and recycling-related laws are expected to come into force soon as part of the Environment Act.
Cllr Warren said: “The council is awaiting further guidance from government – and details of any mandatory changes that could be put in place as a result of the Environment Act – before assessing the full impact on the authority’s collection services.”
Since the LDRS request for an update, Cheshire East has also brought councillors up to speed on progress made – but some are not impressed.
Conservative group leader Janet Clowes (Wybunbury) said: “I’m deeply concerned that information provided to elected members on May 25 and to the public on the Cheshire East website is woefully short on detail and explanation.
“The MTFS has budgeted for this proposal but there has been no consultation with the public or with elected members.”
She pointed out nearly half the council membership had changed since the decision was made.
“At no point has the administration clarified the business case for this initiative and I have grave concerns that potential fly-tipping, the costs of green waste being put into black bins for incineration and the impact on the purpose built green waste hub at Leighton Grange have not been properly factored into these calculations,” said Cllr Clowes.
“This also pre-empts government legislation which may require specific collections of food waste which, at the current time, are already well provided for through the green waste hub. The webpage and information to councillors raises more questions than it answers.”
I do feel I am always on my soap box. I have never objected to paying my tax. Income Tax , Council Tax, V.AT. However I object to tax payers money being wasted. I object to Local Authorities always blaming other factors for their incompetent management. I know there will be people who are very good at their job and provide value to the tax payer. However incompetence needs to be weeded out where it exists.
Have the Council considered the unintended consequences of the new garden bin scheme. The cost of establishing the scheme, it administration costs, fly tipping cost, individuals putting garden waste in household bins. What is the operational costs against the net operation surplus. Will the few pay for the many who not follow the new rules.
In October 1994 I was paying £75.00 per month in Council Tax. Today that is nearly £268 over a 10 month period. That is a 357% increase. It has a snow balling impact on households. It is equivalent gross income of £3337.50 before tax. This excludes national insurance for those working. Today I am retired, my gross income is about my gross income in 1994. The percentage of income required to pay council tax has gone up disproportionately.
This applies to all households It is not unique to me. It leads you to ask where do local authorities spend our tax.
Since October 1994 many new properties have been built in Cheshire East increasing council tax income for the local authority. Yet all we hear is about Central Government reduction in Treasury Funding. The increasing financial burden of social care.
If I was convinced the tax was spent prudently I would not mind.
My perception millions of pounds are wasted. Over time information is made available to the public which supports my view. This information is not readily made available from the Council. There appears a distinct lack of transparency. The business case for projects, should be robustly challenged. There appear to be to many cases where this does not happen. For example increasing the opening hours for Nantwich Library by the Town Council providing an element of funding. The Business case for this action has not been published. This is just one minor example.
The accumulative affect results in many thousands if not millions being wasted. I am not suggesting closure of public libraries but do they need to be open five and half days a week.
I would ask Counsellors and the Executive Team to be a stop to waste.
Deliver value with tax payers money.
Please please put a stop to vanity projects.
Words are words, actions are actions, results are everything. Please deliver value for the tax payer. That is the result the public is looking for.
Fundamentally there has been limited consultation with households directly, although this has been agreed by the local authority themselves, This charge is being enforced the cost of which is disproportionately higher than any other council. Surely households do not have to contribute more and more each time council finances decide or in this case dictate. I can see strategically the long term plan is to eventually charge for each and every bin, and remove the strap line from council tax bills that mention’s anything to do with waste collection of any type. Having worked for 4 local authorities in my career at various levels, I am outraged, and believe many more residents share the same view.
We need someone to come in and sift through CE finances, it’s clear that the system has many flaws in unwise handling of the coffers, just look at that enormous bill mentioned about looking into procedures that have been badly handled by some department, clearly we council tax payers are looked on as cash cows for any I’ll advised scheme. I will tell you where my grass cuttings are going, straight into the black bin, so suck on that idea CE
Pup, we are already contributing, significantly, and with cost increases outstripping wage increases. I might simply put my garden waste in the household waste bin, with further demands on my pocket probably likely to further dilute recycling efforts.
We’re not being screwed over – we all have to contribute where we can.
Many if not all local authorities are facing a massive financial problem eg with a growing population of elderly people who need increasingly more medical care, social inequality and depravity that needs addressing to level up our society and less and less money coming from central government. Opportunities have to be explored and implemented and we all have to pay more for a fairer and more just society.
It’s got nothing to do with which party is in charge. Many if not all local authorities are facing a massive financial problem eg with a growing population of elderly people who need increasingly more medical care, social inequality and depravity that needs addressing to level up our society and less and less money coming from central government. Opportunities have to be explored and implemented and we all have to pay more for a fairer and more just society.
Anyone who voted Labour on May 4th has no right to moan about this. This is what you voted for.
Cheshire East Waste Money and we pay enough in council tax for bin collections without having more charges added. Time they looked at cutting their expenses ans the extravagant wages of some council employees if they want to save money not keep screwing the people as if we’re a bottomless pit.