PLANS for Silhillians to pay for garden waste collection are a step closer to becoming a reality.
The £49 annual charge is set come into effect from July after the proposal was given the nod to be put forward as part of Solihull Council’s budgeting process following a heated Cabinet meeting.
The council has not previously charged for the service although residents could pay around £90 a year for an extra garden waste bin and for its collection.
At the meeting, Councillor Ken Hawkins, cabinet member for Environment and Infrastructure, said the authority had previously resisted the move and blamed budgetary pressures.
Coun Hawkins said: “We examined this in detail in 2016, and people were asked about charges for garden waste.
“Members discussed and debated it and we all said ‘no we don’t want to go down that line’ and that’s been the case ever since and throughout.
“Every year, every budget, we all look at fees and charges and we made a conscious decision not to go down and charge for garden waste collection as something we have always done and it’s something I don’t want to do either but I think we’re in a different situation now.”
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.
The meeting heard that Solihull is one of only two local authorities in the West Midlands 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 the majority of councils in the country.
Documents released ahead of the meeting said the service would operate as it does 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.
