ACROSS Wokingham, overflowing bins have been left unemptied, bottles of urine and bags full of dog’s mess left next to them. A coffee cup placed on top of one makes it look like an Avant Garde art installation rather than a resident acting in desperation, unable to deposit their waste.
Other bins have been covered over, but residents have been ripping the covers and waste flows freely out of them.
In high summer, the smell of rotting waste lingers in the air, with some residents saying they the pong is an unwelcome guest in their homes.
This is bin-go, Wokingham Borough Council’s cost-saving operation to save £700,000 over three years, as the squeeze on council finances continues, with £600,000 coming from changes to bins, cleaning around bottle banks, and weed spraying. A further £100,000 would be saved from reducing the number of grass cuts from six a year to four, except for parks, and sightlines on grass verges.
This week the leader of the council has apologised to residents for the mess, quite literally, and said the cost-saving measures have been put on hold as the correct process has not been followed.
Cllr Stephen Conway said: “Nobody wants to make changes like these, but we have been left with no choice thanks to years of under-funding and now inflation that is pushing the cost of everything we do up and up.
“In our understandable desire to make these necessary changes, we did not follow the correct procedure and we apologise for that.”
“It is important to remember who it is that we are protecting services for: it is people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health problems as well as older people who struggle to look after themselves without some help and children with additional needs.
“I make no apology that, in the financial position we have been placed, these people will take priority over litter bins or length of grass.”
The decision to axe some bins and reduce the frequency of collections has been rubbished by opposition parties.
Wokingham Conservatives have launched a petition and has two motions on the agenda for tonight’s council meeting that tackles some of the issues.
The first sees its leader, Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, call on the council to publish quarterly reports on business cases for all projects with a cost of more than £1 million. This is with the procurement of wheelie bins in mind.
The second, from Cllr Norman Jorgensen, calls on the council to make a full report on savings at the September council meeting, hold a public consultation, report to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, and take that report to the Executive.
The motion adds that until those steps have been carried out, the council should carry on collecting bins, sweep roads and spray weeds.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen said: “Politics is about making choices, and at every opportunity, the Lib Dems make the wrong ones.
“Despite it not being mentioned in their manifesto or budget announcements, Liberal Democrat councillors must have been well aware of this policy to reduce public litter bins; the Liberal Democrat Executive member was quoted in the press release announcing the cuts.
“Repeatedly the Lib Dems fail to consult with residents, and they duck scrutiny. It demonstrates a total disregard for the people who voted for them.
“Now to be told by officers that the decision was not made correctly just demonstrates the Lib Dems’ incompetence, despite what they say.”
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In a column in this week’s Wokingham Today, Labour councillor Andy Croy points out that dropping litter is not acceptable and those who leave waste next to bins is indulging in anti-social behaviour.
He also points out the Conservatives have “crocodile tears” and they “would much rather talk about the Liberal Democrat council than their own, rotten, miserly government which has not only trashed the economy but has also trashed local government finance”.
He added: “What we cannot do is ignore the anger and bewilderment of residents who suddenly find what many would be consider a sign of good local government, that is the provision of adequate litter bins and an adequate regime to empty them, has been whisked away.”
Yesterday, Cllr Conway admitted the savings plan that saw bins taped off and changes made to grass cutting had not gone through the correct protocols and was being paused.
“The threats posed to our finances should not be under-estimated; other councils have effectively gone bankrupt and the impact of that is horrendous – services cut to the bone and Council Tax up to 10% or thereabouts. It is not a fate we want inflicted on Wokingham Borough.
“We will now go through the correct process, which will start next month with a public consultation on how any changes should be implemented.”
Wokingham Today understands that Cllr Norman Jorgensen’s motion is to receive cross-party support as, as such, is likely to be carried.
