Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has been banking on money collected for garden waste removal, along with savings made from reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill, to raise around £700,000. It would be part of its £2.3million cost savings announced at the last budget.
The budget changes were planned to fund the £90million Calverley Square development.
The introduction for garden waste fees has been a controversial move, and many suspected the council would not get the money it had hoped for from the scheme.
However, the council’s cabinet member for sustainability, Cllr Dr Ronen Basu, says they ‘are on target’.
Discounts
He told members at last week’s Full Council meeting that so far 9,156 people had signed up to the council’s early bird scheme that offers a £10 discount on the annual £52 charge.
The Culverden councillor added that in the week prior to the meeting they had seen a surge in demand for the discounts, with more than 400 people signing up to the scheme, which ends next week [August 2].
He said the council had targeted around 13,000 people to sign up to the scheme in advance.
“We are on target,” said Cllr Basu, as he urged members of the public to take advantage of the discount scheme before it closes.
If the council hits the 13,000 target, it is set to raise around £546,000, and says it plans to raise the rest of the necessary money through shared savings with Kent County Council from reduced landfill waste.
From September, the council begins its glass recycling scheme in the borough.
