Today your Lib Dem councillors tried to get an extension to the consultation on the garden waste tax. If Labour gets its way you will have to pay £20 for the service on top of one of the highest council taxes in the country.

Tell them how you feel by filling in the consultation here:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6B6GZBJ

We also asked for alternatives to the plan to brought to councillors for consideration. This was also refused.

The proposal is deeply flawed:

– No mention of the likely cost of increased flytipping

– Nothing about what happens if residents refuse to pay  and use their general waste bin instead which many residents have already said they would do. Although it was said in the meeting that something would have to be done – so will they start fining us all?

– No mention of the environmental impact of 1000’s of extra car trips to household waste sites.

– No mention of the possibility of flooding and blocked drains from people dumping waste at the back of houses, in ditches etc.

– No mention of what will be done if the impact of the plans is disproportionate on the elderly which is likely.

– No mention of the extra cost to the council of trying to get untidy gardens tied up when people give up on gardening. (When the council introduced the Sofa Tax charge to take away bulky items, the result was very clearly that in many places, particularly areas where people live on low incomes, more items are being left lying in gardens, damaging the look of the area.)

– The finances do not appear plausible as so many more people will refuse to pay, reducing the income generated.

Just a few issues raised at the meeting by your Lib dem councillors.

Please tell everyone you know to fill in the online consultation.

Given that one of the senior Labour councillors has already said in a public meeting that if people  put garden waste in their general waste bin, the whole plan  is an utter farce.