Tories fire opening shot in bid for council power
BIRMINGHAM’S Conservatives have unveiled plans to clean up the city as the group launches its bid to take control of the city council.
The announcement marks the opening salvo in the battle for voters in May’s local elections.
Group leaders cite Birmingham’s demise from “the cleanest city in Britain” 15 years ago to one often blighted by dumped rubbish and missed bin collections as they pledged to sort the issue out.
They say flytipping has rocketed in the city (by 84% since 2015), with bin collections missed “more than 100,000 times a year”.
They also highlight that nearly all fines for littering are handed out in the city centre, with far fewer given anywhere else in the city’s residential heartlands.
They say a Birmingham council led by local Conservatives would:
Increase the reliability of collections, ensuring bins are collected weekly and on time.
Scrap the charge for bulky waste and garden collection.
Expand the level of CCTV coverage in known hotspots to drive up prosecutions.
Introduce dedicated clean-up crews for each neighbourhood Retain Mobile Household Recycling
Centres which visit neighbourhoods.
Increase recycling rates in the city, from a current low of less than 25% of all rubbish.
Cllr Deirdre Alden, shadow cabinet member for street scene & parks, said high council tax rates should ensure the city is kept clean – without having to rely on volunteer litter pickers and community teams to do the job.
The local council elections take place on Thursday, May 5.
The deadline for applications for candidates to take part is 4pm on April 5.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote is Thursday, April 14.