Plea to rethink bin charge plan despite expected boost to council coffers

Council officers have been urged to rethink a plan to charge residents for replacement bins, despite it being expected to rake in thousands for the council.

Rochdale Council is proposing to make people pay £20 for a new bin if theirs goes missing or becomes damaged.

The measure, included in a review of discretionary fees and charges for 2020/2021, is forecast to bring in nearly £190k over a full financial year.

However, if approved following a wider consultation on savings, it would be introduced from January – and is expected to increase council income by £30k by the end of March.

Any extra cash would undoubtedly be welcome given the authority was forecasting a £7.2m overspend – as of the end of July – and needs to save £32.2m over the coming two financial years.

Councillor Liam O’Rourke told a meeting of the corporate overview and scrutiny committee the charge was ‘profoundly unfair’.

He said: “When a new person moves to the borough, the first thing the council does is not say ‘hello’ or ‘here are the services we provide’ it says ‘can we have some cash for some bins please, because your landlord or person that constructed the property has not provided one for you’.

“We have talked about fly-tipping and we talk about increasing the recycling rate, this is something we very much need to hold firm on.

“It’s something this committee has been vehemently against and celebrated when we previously got rid of those charges, and I hope we maintain that position.”

Councillor O’Rourke added that the charge would be like a ‘punishment’ for residents. 

“You have your bin nicked and then the council says ‘give us some money to replace it', it’s adding insult to injury and I propose the council should look at that particular (proposal),” he said.

Julie Murphy, the council’s chief finance officer, told the committee residents would be able to appeal against the charge if their bin was stolen or set on fire.

However, Councillor Kallum Nolan questioned in what other circumstances people would request a new bin.

Unlike last year where there was a standard two per cent rise, the council is proposing not to increase discretionary fees and charges to residents during 2020/2021.

However, there are some exceptions to this including replacement library membership cards (for adults), and lost or damaged books.

Ms Murphy told the committee that last year’s increase raised around £130,000 – which she said was not hugely significant in the context of the council’s financial position.

Councillor O’Rourke and Councillor Holly were in agreement that introducing an across-the-board inflationary rise this year could mitigate the need for potentially controversial cuts in other areas.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter