Agenda item

Councillor Sutton presented his motion regarding Garden Waste and stated that;

‘During the consultation with residents regarding garden waste, sixty two percent of respondents agreed they would prefer to keep the service at a reasonable cost rather than the only other option, to have no service at all. It came as a surprise to us and the residents of the Elm and Christchurch ward to receive election pledges by the ruling party’s candidates, to do away with the charge, I have it on good authority that other wards had similar pledges, so this resolution should extend to the whole of Fenland.

I am of course aware of the Government consulting on garden waste, but these almost certainly won’t be introduced until 2023/2024 at the earliest, if at all.

This Council resolves to:

1. Refer this matter for consideration by Cabinet; and

2. If the resolution at paragraph 1 is agreed, that Cabinet considers taking the following steps:

a. refund all Garden Waste contributions paid by the residents of Elm and Christchurch and the rest of Fenland, for the 19/20 municipal year, as per the pledges made by candidates of the ruling party in their election publications;

b. discontinuing the garden waste charge for the remainder of the 2019/20 municipal year with a full review to take place ahead of the next municipal year;

c. recommend to Full Council any budget requirements necessary to give effect to that decision and in so doing spell out very clearly where they plan to find the circa £700K to do so’

Councillor Tanfield seconded the motion and Councillor Mrs Mayor opened the motion up for debate.

Councillor Boden stated;

‘I propose an amendment to this motion which has been tabled for members (as per the attached amendment). Whilst I support reimbursing members of the public there is a lot of political comment in regards to this motion.

Yes, the government has announced a consultation on garden waste however I would like to consider the wider aspects of Councillor Sutton’s motion. We can look at other local authorities that collect their waste and other available innovative schemes. Councillor Tierney will consider these aspects under his role as Portfolio Holder for Transformation.

We have real opportunities to have a service which achieves more and potentially costs less. This is what the amendment aims to achieve whilst informing us, in a prescriptive way, of the changes we can make.

I propose that the motion is amended as follows;

During the consultation with residents regarding garden waste, sixty two percent of respondents agreed they would prefer to keep the service at a reasonable cost rather than the only other option, to have no service at all.

The Government is consulting on garden waste.

This Council resolves to:

1. refer this matter for consideration by Cabinet; and
2. if the resolution at 1 is agreed, that Cabinet considers taking the following steps:
   1. awaiting the outcome of the re-evaluation of the waste collection service and thereby reviewing  all Garden Waste contributions paid by the residents of Fenland,;
   2. awaiting the outcome of the re-evaluation of the waste collection service and then reviewing the financial impact and impact on recycling  of discontinuing or reducing the garden waste charge ;

c.   following the Council’s re-evaluation of the waste collection service advise Councillors of any budget requirements necessary to give effect to any recommendations coming from the Cabinet review including the circa net £700K income the Council derives from the current scheme’

Councillor Murphy seconded the amendment and Councillor Mrs Mayor opened the motion up for debate.

1.    Councillor Booth said whilst he had concerns that the amendment is not as strong as the original motion, it is a step in the right direction. He highlighted that he has raised the subject of Garden Waste charges for a number of years and is willing to support the amendment if it means the potential removal of this charge.

2.    Councillor Booth highlighted that during the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) consultation, residents stated that one service they did not want charging for was the Garden Waste service and yet the Council still implemented this.

3.    Councillor Count highlighted that there are certain elements in the background that members must consider in relation to this motion. There are two very important matters going to Parliament over the coming months; including their own spending review and most importantly, the Fair Funding Review which will affect local authority funding. There has been evidence that there will be shortfall of over £52 billion nationally by 2025 if this is not addressed, with evidence showing that District Councils could be amongst the worst affected. He said the Council will have to make decisions with this in mind as it is likely to have a major financial impact on the Council.

4.    Councillor Tierney said that he was positive that the Council will move forward over the coming 4 years to save the public money and offer better services. He added that by all members working together this can be achieved.

5.    Councillor Tanfield said if the Council considers new waste management options, they must be thoroughly investigated prior to any commitments.

6.    Councillor Sutton explained that he had proposed this motion as local residents had informed him that the Local Conservative Party candidates had promised to deliver a free garden waste service as part of their Election pledge.

7.    Councillor Sutton asked which member had been responsible for the Election material released by the Local Conservative Party.

8.    Councillor Mrs Mayor reminded Councillor Sutton that this was not a matter related to the agenda item being discussed.

A vote was taken on the amendment and the amendment to the motion was adopted.

Councillor Mrs Mayor asked for a vote to be taken on the substantive motion.

The motion was passed.