Stockport Council’s leader gives update on £59 garden waste charge
Stockport council's new leader has given an update on the £59 fee for garden waste collections in green bins.
The charge was introduced as part of the council's budget this year in the face of growing financial pressure.
It was thought that it could bring in around £2m with enough uptake, cash which is much-needed as the cost of funding local services continues to increase.
While the charge has proved unpopular and led to backlash from residents, lots of people are paying for permits – with more than 53,000 having been sold already.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked new council leader Mark Roberts if the £59 charge would increase next year or stay at the current rate.
He said: "We have to work through budget setting, as a council we have to set a balanced budget every year.
"As far as I'm concerned, that [garden waste] fee isn't changing, we look to keep things as they are – but we're waiting on the government for the spending review.
"The approach we've taken on green bins has been a necessity because of the chronic underfunding that's come from national government."
Cllr Roberts replaced his Lib Dem colleague Mark Hunter as council leader this week.
He has previously warned that the £59 fee was a trade-off between charging for garden waste collections or closing libraries and swimming pools across the borough.
The new charge was introduced alongside changes to blue bin collections for paper and cardboard, which are moving to monthly rather than fortnightly, from May 26.
Cllr Roberts said he understands the garden waste charge was unpopular, but explained that Stockport residents expect the council to make difficult decisions to protect services.
"Unless we see the new Labour government stepping up and delivering on that issue [council funding], I expect to see the roll out of garden waste charging more broadly to those councils that currently don't do it," he added.
"There aren't that many left, we're now in a group of about 80 percent of councils that deal with waste that have had to do it.
"We know it's not popular, but I think our residents expect us to look at what the right thing to do is."
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