OVER 11,000 subscriptions have been received for the garden waste collection service which is no longer free to Stratford residents.
Applications opened earlier this month for the yearly subscription, which begins on April 1, and comes with a £40 fee.
The charge for the formerly free service aims to offset government funding cuts and cut carbon emissions, after concerns the climate emergency declared in 2019, would add to financial pressures on Stratford District Council.
The authority says the collection cost over £1million a year and the fee – which is already in place in Rugby and North Warwickshire – would generate some £2million a year.
The move, which was delayed by the pandemic, received strong opposition from Liberal Democrats and district residents. Many were concerned it would lead to irresponsible disposal of waste by those who opted out of the fee.
But the council remains hopeful after the surge of applications.
District councillor Ian Shenton said: “This is a great start and shows the value our residents have for this service. The collection of garden waste is a discretionary service – one that we do not have to provide. Given the budget challenges we face, we had a choice to charge for the service or possibly stop it completely. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we felt it would be fairer for residents to have a choice to pay for a service or not, rather than not having a service at all.
“Early bird applications are still open until the end of February and I would encourage anyone who would like to subscribe to our garden waste service, to take advantage of this offer and sign up now before the service starts in April. I don’t want people to be disappointed when the early bird offer ends and they have missed out.”
The £35 Early Bird offer is in place until February 28.
Visit www.stratford.gov.uk/gardenwaste for more details.
