WHILE green bin collection charges across Wrexham are set to go up, there could also be reductions to the service.

Wrexham Council’s lead member for the environment, Rossett Cllr Hugh Jones (Con) spelled out the potential changes at a meeting of the council’s executive board.

The authority is trying to plug a predicted £23m hole in its budget after only two months of this financial year, with spending in all departments under review.

One of the areas which has the biggest budget pressures is the environment department, with Cllr Jones explaining that its importance was underlined during Saturday’s flooding across the county as he thanked staff for their response.

OTHER NEWS:

He said: “On Saturday you will all have seen the demands on the environment department which is one of the departments that is under pressure.

“The fact that they responded to 130 emergencies on Saturday afternoon across the county borough, it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to that level of response.

“But it’s also an indication year on year of the increasing pressures on the department.”

One of the immediate actions the council is taking towards balancing the budget is increasing the green waste collection charges to £35.

Border Counties Advertizer: Cllr Hugh JonesCllr Hugh Jones

But Cllr Jones added that for environmental as well as financial reasons, Bank Holiday collections and whether the service should operate at all in January and February are under review.

He said: “We have been significantly below that of the charges of our neighbouring authorities both in England and in Wales, and also the degree of service we have offered has been significantly in excess.

“For instance, we as the norm have a 240 litre bin – in other authorities they’re either 180 or 160, and also the frequency of collections.

“We are with officers, under delegated powers, going to look at whether it’s necessary to collect green waste in January and February because we have also declared a climate emergency. We have vehicles going out pumping diesel out, and in the main collecting very little.

“The likelihood is we will cease to do collections of the green bin in January and February.

Border Counties Advertizer: Sign up to the Oswestry Advertizer for £4 for 4 months

“That is still to be finally determined under the delegated powers of the officer but that together with looking at ending Bank Holiday collections, and moving those Bank Holiday collections to a Saturday, still means we are still going to be offering a service which is significantly better.”

During the flooding experienced across the county last weekend, the council faced criticism for the maintenance of its gulleys, something else Cllr Jones confirmed is being looked at.

“We do have a programme for maintaining those gulleys”, he said.

“As a result of what has happened in the last week we are carrying out a full review of that service, and the chief officer will be making a report to me.”