News

With just days to go before the garden  waste discount incentive expires just 7,000 of 17,000 people who already have the collection service have signed up for the new premium collection service, say Shepway District Council.

But an online village poll conducted by the Hawkinge Gazette indicates the figures published by the council could have been even worse if the votes cast were reflected across the district as a whole.

In the Gazette poll which asked the question: "Are you prepared to pay Shepway council £35 a year for your garden waste wheelie bin to be emptied every 2 weeks?" there have been just 28 votes in support of the scheme but 384 against.

The Gazette admits that it is not a definitive result and it is possible that people may have cast their votes, for or against, more than once.

However, an upbeat Shepway Council say that within the first two weeks of letters going to residents letting them know about a forthcoming charge for the collection, 7,328 customers had said they want the service – nearly four times the numbers who said they didn’t.

The figure includes 369 new customers who have not yet been able to have the garden waste collection.

Cllr Rory Love, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “Although we are introducing a £35 annual charge for the collection, we are offering a discounted rate of £25 for anyone who signs up before 1 March. I am delighted that so many people have already signed up and taken advantage of the discount.

“But there are only a few days for the discount to run so I would urge anyone who wants to continue using this very good service to contact us as soon as possible.”

The council is introducing the charge for the collection to ensure that, by providing necessary funds, the service - which was originally paid for by a one-off government grant - can continue. The council also believes that as only 36 per cent of homes can use the service at the moment, it is fairer to ask those who use the service to make a contribution towards the costs.

Anyone wanting to take advantage of the discounted rate should contact the council on 01303 853535 before 1 March.