Anger As Garden Tax Bills Hit Households Across Shepway

Thousands of Garden Tax demands for the £35 Charge for Brown-top bins have been hitting households across Shepway - including thousands of households without a brown-top bin. The huge billing exercise will cost many thousands of pounds, is expected to have a low return level and could lead to reduced recycling levels in Shepway.

Many local residents are looking at returning their bin and taking up local cost alternatives such as home composting using bins available from just £7 at www.recyclenow.com/compost

Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader Lynne Beaumont says:

"Because of the mismanaged budget the Conservative cabinet are desperate to find ways to make money. A grant of £500,000 was given 4 years ago to introduce this service, and no plan to fund this service long term has been put into the budget since then.

"If £1 million had not been spent on recycling lorries that didn't work, and £1 million on Sports Centres that don't exist, The Tory cabinet would not be needing to introduce charges for this service."

"No account has been taken of people on low incomes and benefits, elderly pensioners with a decreasing disposable income every year or anyone who does not have any form of transport to recycle their own garden waste. This is a Garden Poll Tax. It is a stealth tax which many of people in Shepway cannot afford. It discriminates against people who cannot afford this service. Recycling should not be a middle class pursuit.

"Cllr Rory Love, District Secretary for the Environment, could not add this charge to the Council tax this year, because otherwise central government would cap the council. But if you use this service, overall you will face the same as an over 21% Council tax rise from Shepway - the largest ever increase."

If payment of the Garden Tax levels are particularly low, then Shepway Council could end up WORSE off than they are under the current free service. Councillor Tim Prater who quizzed Rory Love on the imposition of the new charge at the recent full Council meeting explains:

"At the moment, Shepway get paid for every tonne of garden waste they collect and compost. They have to pay for every tonne of waste that goes to landfill. The cost of setting up and running the new billing scheme is over £78,000 in the first year, and £52,000 in subsequent years.

"If local residents refuse to sign up to the new Garden Tax, Shepway will be faced by a triple whammy. Recycling levels will drop and they will lose income on garden waste composting. They may see an increase in landfill tax they pay as people put garden waste in their domestic bins as they have returned their garden waste bin. And Shepway are already paying thousands for sending bills out across the district.

"Its the worst of all possible worlds. It hits recycling levels. As a flat rate tax, it hits poorer households hardest. And it could even lose Shepway money. They need to stop, and stop now.

Taken with the expected tax increase which Shepway will set in February, a household choosing to keep their brown-top bin in recycling will see their Shepway Council tax move from £203 this year to a combined Council & Garden Tax of £247 next year - a record 21.7% increase.

The basic Band D Council Tax from Shepway for 2007/08 is £203.13. Assuming a 4.5% increase for 2008-09 and Cllr Love's £35 Garden Tax this will become £247.27 for those who choose to retain their currently free brown-top bin.

£247.27 is effectively a Shepway Tax increase including Garden Tax of £44.14 - a percentage rise of 21.7%.

At the full Shepway Council meeting on 23rd January, Cheriton Cllr Tim Prater quizzed District Secretary Councillor Love on the new Garden Tax and asked him to commit not to introduce other such charges on services in future.

Commenting after the meeting, Tim Prater said:

"If you've got a garden, the brown-top bin collection is really valuable - which is why the Government gave Shepway a huge grant to launch the scheme in the first place. The imposition of this £35 charge is therefore quite simply a Garden Tax. Many will simply send their bins back and take their waste to the tip themselves, and Shepway's recycling figures will plummet.

"I think we can expect to see thousands of brown-top bins returned in disgust at Shepway's new Garden Tax.

"Councillor Love's claim that its only right that this is a charge as most people can't use the service is flawed on two counts.

"Firstly, all residents ARE currently paying for it, but I notice there is no drop in Council Tax at the same time as the service is introduced.

"Secondly, there are many services across Shepway, across Kent and nationally that everyone has to pay for in tax, whether they use them, or even could use them, or not. As a flat resident, I, like many others, are not currently covered by Shepway's doorstep recycling scheme and take my household recycling to Cheriton Tesco's recycling point myself. I can't opt-in to that service - it's simply not available to me. I notice Councillor Love, although talking about potential future plans, is not too bashful to take Council Tax from those living in flats to pay for recycling services we just can't get.

"At the meeting, Cllr Love would only commit not to introduce fees on "statutory" services - ie, those items that they are not allowed to impose additional charges on.

"So has he got a plan to introduce new fees on other services next year? Is there yet another stealth tax, like the Garden Tax, coming Cllr Love? Who will you be hitting next time?"