New Hartlepool brown bin collection charge could be reduced by nearly £10

Hartlepool Borough Council was looking to introduce an annual cost of £41.50 per household for its brown bin service from April.

This formed part of plans to make £1.768million in potential savings for 2023-24 to help address a £10.039million budget deficit.

Yet, at the latest meeting of the finance and policy committee, independent council leader Councillor Shane Moore proposed reducing the planned charge to £32 per household.

A proposed 4.9% overall council tax rise for 2023/24, however, still remains.

Cllr Moore said the proposed garden waste collection fee decrease comes after officers reviewed the proposed charges following concerns from residents and councillors.

He said: “The proposed charge of £41.50 was on par with those authorities that were collecting the service on a more regular basis so officers went away and reviewed that.”

He added garden waste collection is a non-statutory service, which not all properties in the town benefit from, and the decision comes as part of the “difficult choices” the local authority has to make.

The proposal will now provide an estimated £195,000 saving in 2023-24, below the £250,000 previously earmarked, with the council using reserves to cover the gap.

Labour group leader Councillor Brenda Harrison said: “The people who use brown bins, they look after their gardens, they give something to the town.

“It just seems that we’re going to keep putting the council tax up and up and up and people can’t afford it.”

Councillors on the committee voted seven-four in support of the budget plan and recommended that it is fully approved at Thursday’s full council meeting.