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  1. Published on: 24/10/2016 10:38 AMReported by: rogerblaxall


    The Conservative Group has come out fighting on budget cuts at the Labour run Borough Council.

    And it's taking a highly critical stance of moves approved at last week's Council Meeting.

    This morning, the Tory opposition have claimed the measures are poorly thought out, represent unnecessary cuts in important frontline services and the new charges mean residents will be paying more for less.

    They include:

    * New £30 pa charge for Green Waste Collection

    * Removal of Static Recycling sites across the Borough

    * Building Control to be allowed to continue to lose £57.5k a year

    * Charging elderly and disabled council tenants £5 per week for gardening services

    Cllr. David Westley, Conservative Leader, told QLocal: "This is the same old Labour Party that can never do anything but slash frontline services and charge more.

    "I appreciate that Labour are distracted by their internal party squabbling over Corbyn's leadership but it is inexcusable that they have failed to come up with any ideas or initiatives to improve the efficiency of the Council.

    "The previous Conservative Administration did it with Lancashire and Wigan that together with other efficiencies saved well over £5m or 35% of the annual budget.

    He went on: "The £30 charge for Green Waste Collections is a regressive measure as it takes no account of homeowner's ability to pay and equates to an 8% increase in Council Tax for Band D properties. Why did Labour bother to go through a costly public consultation exercise and then completely ignore the overwhelming 83% who voted against the introduction of the charge?

    Added Coun Adrian Owens from Our West Lancashire, speaking after the council voted to press ahead with the planned £30 green bin charge: “Labour have shown their utter contempt for local residents. They cynically withdrew the proposal when they had to face the election in May and then brought it back immediately afterwards. Meanwhile opposition to the green bin charge has grown to a huge 83%.

    “Politicians are meant to serve the public. There were alternative options available, but Labour chose to ignore the overwhelming thumbs down the public gave this idea. This change will impact greatest on the elderly and disabled who are less likely to be able to drive to the council tip and as it’s a flat fee, it takes no account of ability to pay.”

    “Our West Lancashire raised a large petition from residents in every ward of the Borough against this ill-conceived charge and we will continue to point out its unintended consequences and shortcomings.

    "Labour will regret their decision to ignore voters in this way.”

    Labour still need to find savings of £0.5m to balance next year's budget so more cuts in services will be announced in February along with a further 2% increase in Council Tax, said Coun. Westley, who added that the party are likely to include the options they deferred last week;

    * Close three public toilets

    * Cut street sweeping and litter collections

    * Remove some CCTV cameras and reduce live monitoring.
    Follow the discussion on news at facebook.com/groups/ormskirknews

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    Your Comments:


  3. Mwmbwls says:27/10/2016 08:39 AM
    The proposal to introduce a range of charges for the removal of green waste is a bad idea on so many levels. The Council has taken a naive view of what cost reduction means. Displacing costs so that they appear elsewhere or are deferred until later is not cost reduction. Nor is it cost reduction if it encourages gamed responses to frustrate the impact of the cuts. It is not a cost reduction if short term benefits are cancelled out by long term harm.
    Certain parts of West Lancashire already suffer from endemic fly-tipping. It is expensive to clear up and soaks up hours of valuable council employee time to police when found on public property. It is an unwarranted cost on any property owner if it occurs on private property. This privatisation of a public obligation is not a cost reduction. Fly tipping is not necessarily always malicious – many of my neighbours sweep the leaves off the pavements outside their houses – In future there will be a direct incentive not to bother with such public-spirited action that contribute to the environment and improved footpath safety by passers. Damaging positive behavioural norms is not good public policy.
    Some West Lancashire residents may game the system by pitting green waste into their non-recyclable bins. The successful public education programme of the public to segregate their waste has meant that the performance of waste processing plants has improved dramatically meaning that less waste has been going to land fill sites. A large part of this success stems from the fact that a lot of waste is now sent to Energy from Waste Power Stations where its calorific value produces electricity and residual ashes can then be used in manufacturing construction materials. The proposed plant in Southport is a case in point. However, the efficiency of these plants hinges on having a feed stock of consistent calorific value. This means that household waste needs to be sorted. The cheapest way to sort waste is at source and although having three bins consumes space for house-holders it does work quite well. Waste arriving at Waste Transfer Stations is sorted by very effective sorting machines using advanced techniques such as rotating hopper and air-knife technologies. Green garden waste in what is designed in the grey household stream tends to block up the system and because of the high-water content of most green waste spoils the calorific value of the material making the generation of electricity uneconomic. Economists would describe this as, shuffling higher costs down the value chain. This effect can best have seen if you take a long balloon and squeeze – first the air just moves down the balloon but if you squeeze it enough the balloon will go pop and the entire system falls apart.
    There is no sense in cutting costs if it creates long term environmental damage. West Lancashire residents do not need to go out for a breath of fresh air – it come to visit them. But it not only our mosses we have trees – mainly in the form of tree as shelter belts, parks and garden features. Now, many species – Oak, Ash. Elm and now Horse Chestnut are under threat, often because of alien insects and other pathogens. In most cases, it is not possible to eradicate the cause but it is possible to mitigate the symptoms. Because of the tendency of the pests to over winter in leaf litter, many informed sources support the sweeping up and processing of leaf litter, preferably by hot composting. If green bin provision is rationed by price and the leaves are left, we hasten the destruction of the trees, which will cause public safety issues over time. It would be invidious for a council that actively supports conservation areas and tree preservation orders to find themselves in a position whereby they are contributing to a policy to damage that which they wish to preserve.
    Finally – The closure of static refuse sites across the borough – which sites, full or partial closure. I think we should be told.


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