After a rapid U turn on putting parking charges on the high streets of Folkestone, Hythe & New Romney, the council is now proposing reducing the number of litter bins across the district from 1,060 to 775, a loss of 285 bins and raising fees for garden waste and the collection of bulky items, to reduce their £18m deficit.
Now we pay the highest Council Tax in Kent and our new leader of the Council – Cllr Jim Martin (Green) doesn’t have an answer to that question, nor does he believe we are getting value for money. Yet the Council he leads will more likely than not raise our Council Tax in February and potentially give residents of Folkestone & Hythe less street cleansing and less bins. How’s that value for money Jim?
In a bid to shave of £200,000 from the Veolia contract the Council propose negotiating with Veolia to reduce the street cleansing in what are know as “Zone Z high intensity cleansing area” in Folkestone town centre, including the half the Leas (lines in red below) and Hythe High Street.
National standards for street cleansing are set by the DEFRA Litter Code of Practice (see page 18). Each street in our district is zoned depending on the anticipated level of intervention needed to meet the Code of Practice standard.
Zone Z streets are graded above the national standard (i.e. cleaned to a higher standard daily) and cover limited areas of Folkestone and Hythe town centres measuring around 3,100 metres in total.
But Report Number OS/23/06 which goes before the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Sub-Committee tonight, 5 Dec 2023, doesn’t just mention the reduction in street cleansing in Folkestone & Hythe it also proposes: –
• Negotiate Contract Savings – £200K
• Reduce Street Litter Bins – £30K
• Increase Bulky Waste Collection Fee – £5K
• Increase Garden Waste Fee – £90K
Now given we know Veolia are failing to undertake decent street cleansing – see our posts of Sept 6 and Sept 7, a further reduction will make our town centre potentially look even scruffy than it already is.
So if your a gardener, who uses the Council garden waste service, these proposals may well see your bills rise, and the same goes for bulky waste fees.
As residents we strongly suggest you write to your Folkestone Cllrs & your Hythe Cllrs, otherwise you’ll end up with more rubbish on the streets, while continuing to pay the highest council tax of any council in Kent – and that as the leader of the Council says, can’t be value for money.
The Shepway Vox Team
Journalism for the People NOT the Powerful
