Home > News > West Berkshire Council’s Green Waste Tax — a letter to the council

 

From: Carolyne Culver
Date: 7 November 2018 at 09:25:05 GMT
To: Hilary Cole at West Berkshire Council
Subject: Garden bin charge – web pages are still inaccurate

 

Good morning Councillor Cole, I hope all is well with you.

I note that since Green Party members asked questions at the executive meeting on 18 October the following web page mentions the £25 option https://info.westberks.gov.uk/gardenwaste.

However, the following pages do not mention the £25 option:

Bear in mind that when people Google search using key words such as ‘West Berkshire garden bin’ they do not go via this web page https://info.westberks.gov.uk/gardenwaste so they do not know that £25 is an option. The council should have realised this and systematically checked all pages relating to the garden bin charge.

When you go through the application process you see the attached pages. At no point does it say there is a £25 option if people choose to wait and subscribe next spring.

Furthermore, there are elderly and low income residents who have complained to me that they have no internet access; that the printed letter they received through the post did not mention a £25 option, and when they called the council to pay the person who dealt with their enquiry did not mention the £25 option.

To my mind this is a scandalous treatment of the people of West Berkshire. Elderly and low income people in particular.

If the local Conservative Party’s strategy is to haemorrhage votes in the May 2019 election then it is working very well.

Best wishes
Carolyne Culver
Chair 
West Berkshire Green Party