Stafford Borough Council

STAFFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL Garden waste charge frozen for borough

The costof emptying garden waste from homes across Stafford Borough, includinginStone and Eccleshall, has

been frozen for 2022.

Stafford BoroughCouncil saythere will be no increase to theannualcharge forthosehouseholds who want their brown binemptied from January nextyear– and are introducing an improvedonline sign-upservice to makethe process easier.

And residents whowant to have their garden waste collected in 2022 cansign up now. Thecost will stayat£36 for the year andresidents canget moreinformation,and how to sign-up,from www.staffordbc.gov.uk/brownbin.

Aspokesman for the borough council said: “Collecting garden waste is not astatutory council service andaround 65 per centoflocal authorities across thecountry charge their residents to have grass cuttings removed. “Around 35,000 properties signed up to continue using the fortnightly service this year -a total of nearly 40,200 bins -which is approximately 60 per cent of households. “The garden waste is taken by the council’s recyclingand wastecontractor,Veolia, to a composting facilitywhere it is used to producesoil improver.”

CouncillorJonathanPrice, Cabinet Member for Environment,added:“It is great to seesomany households chosetocontinue havingtheirbrown bin garden wastecollectedand I’m very pleased to announce that we havefrozen the cost of the service for thecoming year. “By asking foranannualcontributionfor this non-statutoryservice we canensurethose whouse thebrown bin service can continue to receive it.”

Residents wanting to findout more aboutthe service can seeanswers to some frequentlyasked questions at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/brownbin.

Support is on hand to help heat homes

Asenior councillor in Stafford Boroughis appealing for residents to getin touchifthey are worriedabout their heating bills. The callhas beenmade by councillor Jeremy Pert,Cabinet Memberfor Communitiesand HealthatStafford Borough Council, following the recently publicised increase in energy prices.

Aspokesman for the borough council said: “There hasbeena double digit percentriseinprices -the biggest increase sincea price cap was introducedin2019 –and thereisconcern people willnot be able to afford to heat theirhomes properly. “Residents whoare on standard tariffs are setto see their energy billsgoupbyonaverage£139 a year -and customers who usepre-payment meters willsee an average increase of £153. And that increase hascome when temperatures are starting to drop. “The council is advising residents affectedtoget in touch forhelpand advice from itsenergy advice service, Warmer Homes Stafford (WHS).”

The borough councilworks in partnership with local charity ‘Beat the Cold’ to deliver itsWarmer HomesStafford schemethat offers advice to residents on how to reduce fuelbills,supportwith accessing funding, advice andinformation about improving energy efficiency and keeping warm.

CouncillorPertisurging residents who are worried aboutrising heating bills to getintouch withWarmerHomes Stafford now.

He said: “A riseinenergy costs is never good news, butthe timing and scale of thisnew price cap willbedifficult formany residents in theborough still struggling withthe impactofthe pandemic, withfewer companies offering switching options. “Please do notbury your heads in thesand. If you are worriedabout how you can afford to heat yourhome because of theincreaseinyourenergy billthen Iwould urgeyou to contact Warmer HomesStafford immediately to gethelp, adviceand support.”

Martin Peake, CharityDevelopment Managerat Beat the Cold,said: “Withthe steep increase in wholesale prices, we areexpecting energy bills to increase thiswinter. WarmerHomes Stafford can provide impartial independent advice on energy tariffs, andthe steps you can take to keepwarm this winter.”

Residents canget in touchwith WHS by calling Freephone 0800 6771785orvisiting www.warmerhomesstafford.org.uk.