Crawley could move to fortnightly bin collections

Crawley could move from weekly to fortnightly household waste collections as part of an effort to save the borough council money.
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In recent years Adur, Worthing and Horsham have all made the switch, leaving Crawley and Arun as the only two areas in West Sussex where general bins are emptied every week.

But the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on Crawley Borough Council’s finances and it is having to look at a number of possible measures in order to make up a large budget shortfall.

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These include reviewing its waste services, examining the support offered to the community and voluntary sector and closing or reducing the opening hours of public toilets.

Peter Lamb, leader of the council, said: “For the last six years, Crawley Borough Council has bucked the trend. Despite huge cuts to local government funding, every year we have managed to generate enough new revenue to make up for the cuts without having to put council tax up above inflation. Due to the pandemic, that is no longer possible.

“Throughout the lockdown, the money-making parts of the council were forced to shut, while various new costs arose. Unfortunately, the financial consequences will last long beyond this one year, with the economic impact resulting in a significant ongoing cut to the council’s income from business rates and council tax.

“As a result, for the first time since I became council leader we are having to make real cuts to balance the budget. We will do everything we can to make savings humanely and minimise the impact on frontline services, but there will be real consequences for service delivery.”

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While the government has given the council £1.4m to help pay towards its budget shortfall, it is still £1.2m short. This figure will grow to at least £1.7m in 2021/22.

Potential saving options are being explored in parallel with a number of internal efficiency reviews and other initiatives.

The council is proposing to plug the remaining budget gap by:

• Reviewing waste services, potentially moving from weekly to fortnightly rubbish collections and considering the introduction of a weekly food waste collection

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• Post-Covid, reviewing the support the council gives to the community and the voluntary sector as it currently spends more in this area than other councils in West Sussex

• Closing or reducing the operating hours of public toilets

• Reviewing adventure play, moving to a more flexible model of delivery

• Reviewing the number, type and specification of cricket squares, bowling greens and croquet lawns

• Where appropriate, pricing fees and charges accordingly so that costs are covered.