SOLIHULL residents who wish to have garden waste to be collected could pay £49 from next year.
Solihull Councillors are set to discuss proposals to charge for garden waste collections in the borough at the council’s Full Cabinet meeting on December 12.
According to the Council Solihull’s garden waste collection service costs in the region of £1.775million per year and provides residents with fortnightly collections throughout the year, apart from a short break over the Christmas period.
Cabinet will discuss a proposal to introduce an annual subscription charge of £49 per year, with a £5 reduction to £44 for the first year if residents subscribe early.
Documents released ahead of the meeting state: “The income generated by the introduction of the subscription service will be used to contribute to the costs of delivering the garden waste collection service and help address significant pressures on Council budgets.”
The documents adds the service would operate as it doe now, with collections running from January to December with a short break over the Christmas and New Year period.
It is suggested there would be no changes to collection days or schedules to start with but there could be changes once the scheme has been operational for a while and the number of subscriptions becomes settled to ensure collection schedules continue to operate efficiently.
Solihull is one of only two local authorities in the West Midlands and Warwickshire not to charge for the service.
The introduction of subscription charges in July would bring Solihull in line with most other councils in the West Midlands and Warwickshire, and the majority of councils in the country.
The documents also reveal officers have reccommended the policy is approved with the discount for the first year.
Solihull Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Infrastructure, Councillor Ken Hawkins, said: “I recognise in putting forward this proposal that many people will be disappointed. But faced with considerable budgetary pressures, the proposal to introduce a charge for our garden waste collection service as other councils do already, is a fair one.
“If Cabinet approves the proposal, we will introduce the new subscription service next year. Residents will have the option of paying for a fortnightly collection throughout the year, or disposing of their garden waste themselves by taking it to the household waste and recycling centre at Bickenhill or by using a compost bin.”
