Plans to charge Chester residents for disposing of construction and DIY waste postponed

Plans by Cheshire West and Chester Council to charge residents for disposal of construction and DIY waste have been put on hold pending a review.

The policy was due to be implemented from tomorrow (April 1) as part of a the authority’s new waste strategy.

It would have seen residents charged £3.70 per bag to leave four or more bags of construction waste or ceramic items at any of the borough’s seven Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

The charges would not have applied to other domestic household waste.

But following a meeting this week, the council confirmed that additional scrutiny will take place following a formal notice request by six Conservative councillors.

The council’s places scrutiny committee  will now review the evidence and options for introducing charges at HWRCs at a meeting on April 11.

Until the scrutiny recommendations can be considered, no charges will be applied to residents delivering waste from home improvements or repair and alterations to homes or domestic properties.

Cllr Margaret Parker, leader of Cheshire West and Chester’s Conservative Group, said: “This has come about as a direct result of representations we made which included the option of holding a special council meeting to look at the position in more detail.”

Cllr Simon Eardley, shadow cabinet member for the environment, added: “As soon as these new charges for the disposal of some waste were announced, many residents have raised their concerns with us direct.

“It is not in the gift of Conservative councillors – who have opposed the introduction of the ruling Labour administration’s waste strategy at every opportunity – to single-handedly reverse this decision.

“We can, and we will, participate fully in this chance to look at the decision more thoroughly and ask detailed questions about it.”

Cllr Louise Gittins, Labour’s leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, also welcomed the review but laid the blame for charges at the feet of Government.

She said: “Over the past 10 years, Boris Johnson’s Tories have cut half a billion pounds of funding from services that residents in Cheshire West rely on.

“The choices made by Tory governments mean councils across the country are being forced to charge for things that used to be free.

“I welcome the scrutiny meeting and hope the local Tories will scrutinise this decision in the context of the decisions their colleagues have made in Government since 2010.”

By Mark Smith – Local Democracy Reporter