Wokingham Council Weighs Parking, Waste Fee Hikes to Offset £47M Budget Gap

According to the article, Wokingham Borough Council is facing a significant budget challenge as it anticipates needing to save around £47 million over the next three years. This is due to a reduced government grant, which has prompted the council to explore various cost-saving and revenue-generating measures.

One of the key proposals being considered by the council is to hike parking charges and increase fees for garden and bulky waste collections. The council's leader, Stephen Conway, stated that with about 70% of the council's spending going towards supporting people and social care, it has become necessary to look at savings and prioritize its limited resources.

The council's garden waste collections, which currently cost £90 per year for each bin, could see a 10% increase annually for the next three years, potentially raising an additional £545,000. Additionally, the bulky waste collection service, which currently charges £69 to collect up to five items, may be revised to charge £72 for the collection of three bulky items and three small waste electrical items, aiming to generate between £12,000 and £15,000 per year.

Other money-making plans being explored by the council include generating income from advertisements on roundabouts, roadsides, dog poo bins, and rubbish lorries. The council is also considering removing some litter bins from around the borough to save on collection costs, as it claims to have more bins than other authorities of a similar size.

Despite these measures, the council's leader emphasized that the "vast majority" of its spending rightly goes towards supporting people, particularly those with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, health issues, and other needs that the council is responsible for providing support for. However, with this necessary focus on people, the council is unfortunately having to look for savings elsewhere.