Chichester residents call for tip charges to be refunded

People rejoiced after it was revealed that the £4 charge per bag of non-household waste was temporarily lifted whilst the government completed its review of the policy.

However, many residents argued that those who had been hit by the extra costs should be entitled to their money back.

Steve Murphy said: “We already pay for this in our council tax. Everybody who has paid should claim a refund.”

Jamie Macdonald, of Taylors Lane, Bosham, took his rubbish to the Havant tip on March 22 – which had also instated charges in October last year.

Jamie said: “I was shocked when he told me it was £6 per tub.

“I told him that I have a car full and it was in offcuts and he said it all needs to go in the buckets, therefore I would have had to crumble up into small pieces to then chuck into a big skip.”

Jamie took his DIY waste to a private company to save time and money, however, he still paid £100 to dispose of it.

He added: “Obviously I was annoyed that I had just paid a significant amount of money to dispose of DIY waste and if I had waited a little longer I could have saved over £100.

“I don’t think there should be a charge for individuals to dispose of their personal DIY waste – perhaps just a limit on the number of trips you can make per year to dispose of a particular type of waste.”

Green councillor for Chichester City Council, Sarah Sharp said: “If giving householders their money back entails huge admin costs to the council, with cuts to our schools, adult social care and other vital services hitting hard, we must perhaps prioritise best use of the county’s resources.

“Going forward, let’s learn from this mistake – prioritising making money out of the tip backfired in terms of fly tipping.

“The council needs to think through its decisions carefully to ensure that recycling is prioritised and residents are not hit with additional costs for recycling.

Meanwhile, Bognor councillor Francis Oppler said: “I welcome the move to suspend charging, however, I and other councillors have made clear that this should have never of occurred in the first place.

“If the charging of rubble and other items is proven to be unlawful, it then poses the question if residents who have been charged over the last six months might get their money back?”