Tamworth households will face a third consecutive annual increase in garden waste collection charges, with the price rising to £43.50 for 2027. The increase, based on the June Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of 2.8 per cent, marks the latest adjustment as the council seeks to eliminate the financial shortfall that previously required reserve funds.
Price Increase Details
The new charge represents an increase of approximately £1.20 from the current fee. In 2024, the Labour administration’s first move was to raise the charge after the council was spending £60,000 a year to cover the service’s income gap. At that time, council leaders warned that reserves could only sustain the service for two years, making the situation unsustainable.
For 2027, the charge will increase in line with the June CPI rate of 2.8 per cent, rounded to the nearest 50 pence as agreed by council leaders in August 2024. Sign-ups and renewals for the service will open to residents in October.
Council's Justification
Councillor David Foster, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability, Waste, Recycling and Transport, explained the rationale behind the increase. "We'll put up the green waste charges by inflation. It's about a pound increase in the charges. We need to do this to keep them in line with the service such that it's costing us no money," he said.
Council leader Carol Dean echoed this sentiment, noting that the cost of running the service had risen over the past year. "We will all remember back to when we first had to make the decision to put the green waste charges up by a bigger amount and that we were really keen that this was a service that had to wash its own face. We all know that lots of parts of that service will have gone up, petrol and wages, so I'm totally happy that we agree to this change," she stated.
Impact on Residents
The steady increase in charges places additional financial pressure on Tamworth households already grappling with a rising cost of living. Garden waste collection, while optional for many, remains a valued service for residents with gardens. The council has emphasized that the service must be self-funding to avoid drawing on reserves, which are needed for other priorities.
The price hike aligns with a broader trend across local authorities in the West Midlands, where councils are increasingly passing on costs to service users to maintain balanced budgets. Tamworth Borough Council has committed to reviewing the charge annually based on inflation, ensuring the service remains financially sustainable without burdening general council tax payers.
