The original proposal would have seen an annual charge of £41.50 introduced from April. It was calculated that the move would save Hartlepool council approximately £250,000 a year, a council document showed.
Members of the council sought evidence to inform how much the charge should be via a consultation, with the public “objecting strongly” and raising concerns about fly-tipping.
This led to a revision of the saving proposal by Hartlepool’s financial and policy committee, which brought the charge down to £32 annually, resulting in a budget saving of £195,000 instead.
Charge
Hartlepool said around 250 councils nationally already charge for their garden waste collection services, with seven out of 12 councils in the North East charging between £32 and £43 per year. The council said that those who do not charge are “likely to be reviewing this position as part of 2023/24 budget options”.
The council document also noted that the predicted income reflects the forecasted take-up of the service and the experiences of other councils with a similar mix of properties to Hartlepool.
Other councils
Other local authorities have also decided to revise the way they charge for their garden waste collection services as a result of budget pressures similar to Hartlepool’s.
West Oxfordshire district council has discussed increasing charges for its garden waste service, by £5. It expects this to generate additional income of £166,000, a council document said. However, the document warned that “increasing the budget does not necessarily deliver an equivalent increase in income” as “the suggested fee increases against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, where some residents will be looking to cut back on their expenditure”.
Having opted for different paths, other local authorities have decided to reduce the frequency of their collections or streamline the services. This includes Harrow council, which previously offered both a summer and an annual subscription to garden waste collection. The local authority recently scrapped the summer subscription and brought the charge for annual subscription down by £10.
A spokesperson for Harrow told letsrecycle.com: “By making this change, we can offer residents a less complex and more reliable garden waste service, compared with running separate summer and annual subscriptions.
“The new single annual service at a reduced cost of £65 – £10 cheaper than the previous annual cost – will provide a better quality service and value for money for our residents.”
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