Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, has urged Cumbria's new unitary authority to right past wrongs and provide a fair, effective and value for money service to taxpayers.
With Spring arriving the perennial problem of garden waste collection has reared its head. Currently Eden residents all pay the same council tax rates but are provided with substantially different levels of service when it comes to garden waste.
Some 69 villages and hamlets must use communal skips for garden waste despite paying the same council tax rates as those who have a green bin collection service. These skips are delivered once a month, prompting a rush from residents to dispose of their garden waste before the skip is left with its contents to decompose. Residents are then left without garden waste services for another month.
Dr Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, has urged the newly formed Westmorland and Furness Council to correct this system so it works fairly and effectively for all. The council will replace the current county and local authority councils from 1st April.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, said:
“We currently have an unfair and inconsistent system that penalises residents arbitrarily. With council taxes only set to increase further under both new authorities, people are rightly entitled to a decent and uniform service. I urge new council leaders to grab this opportunity by the horns and make things right.
“This issue, while a headache on its own, is only the tip of the iceberg. Frankly, since the unitary authority announcements, local government has ground to a complete standstill on a range of issues. Issues that need to urgently be addressed or leave taxpayers short-changed.”
Last year Dr Hudson met with community campaigners in Skelton, one of the villages in Eden where skips are used for garden waste instead of collected green bins. Residents in these villages paid the same council tax rates as elsewhere in Eden but were left with an inadequate solution where the skip would normally be filled within a day of being delivered and left to decay for a month.
The Cumbrian MP raised residents’ plight in Parliament and pressed Eden District Council but to no avail – the inertia from local government reorganisation had taken hold and councillors were unresponsive.
