Maidstone Labour Group
18/01/97
LABOUR COUNCILLORS SLAM COUNTY FOLLY
Labour Councillors have reacted strongly to the recent leak that Kent County Council were planning to close the civic amenity and recycling site at Tovil.
The site at Tovil has been open for several years and has become a centre for local recycling. It has also been developed into a key part in the measures the Borough Council have successfully taken to reduce fly tipping.
The long term commitment to the site by both Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council has meant that local people have become accustomed to using it as a matter of habit. Its success has reduced not only the reliance on landfill, a disposal method that is becoming more and more expensive, but also reduced the costs to local charge payers who have to pay to clear the mess left by fly tippers.
Labour believes that the closure are a betrayal of previous commitments that the County Council has made to highlight recycling and protect the local countryside from illegal tipping.
The costs in damage to the local countryside and cleaning up will be passed directly from County to individual charge payers at a time when everyone agrees that the cheapest way to clean something is to avoid making it dirty.
Labour Spokesperson, Frances Brown reports;
"County have managed to take with one hand by removing a popular and effective service and take with the other hand by passing the costs of the consequences on to local people in Maidstone. They wish to save a penny today by charging Maidstone people a pound tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that."
"What will happen when people arrive at the site and find it closed? Most will be sensible but any that is left will be cleared at local peoples expense. This will be the tip of the iceberg. We had started to get the problem associated with fly tipping under control and now the County want to take us back ten years knowing that they will not have to suffer the inconvenience or pick up the bill."
"Last year we saw a vast amount being spent by County to promote itself in the face of Local Government review. Now we can see that this cost was met by reducing local services. It is tragic that the lessons in efficient management learned by the Borough have yet to learnt by County. If they need to cave they should look at their bureaucracy and not local services".
For Further Information Contact:
Cllr Julie Skinner
The Maidstone Labour Group Press Officer
C/o 15 Meadowdown
Weavering
Maidstone
KENT. ME14 5TN
Tel: 01622 763679
FAX: 01622 763679
e-mail: JulieSkinner