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Saturday 13th March 2010
The debate over micro-chips in wheelie bins is back on
the agenda after it was revealed that 2.5 million of them have already been
fitted by local authorities around the country which is seen as the first move
towards introducing yet another stealth tax.
Additional charges for waste collections have already proved to be hugely
unpopular and although the scheme has been dressed up as a green initiative it
appears to be little more than another method of raising additional revenue for
a service that is already adequately financed through the council tax. In fact,
there was such a public outcry when the idea was first floated that in 2008 the
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, promised to ditch bin taxes, commonly known as
pay-as-you-throw.
South Kesteven District Council, which covers the Bourne area, is one of the 42
local authorities that have already installed micro-chips in wheelie bins that
have been issued to 55,000 homes in the district. They were fitted at a cost of
£500,000 when the rubbish collection system changed from black plastic bags in
the autumn of 2006, one in each black bin for landfill waste and another in the
silver bin for recyclable materials. The council kept this a secret and when it
leaked out, repeatedly denied that any move for home owners to pay for rubbish
disposal was being considered and insisted that the microchips, or bin bugs as
they had become known, were nothing more than identifying tags which enabled the
dustcarts weigh the rubbish collected.
Their installation angered many people and Brynley Heaven, of Aslackby, near
Bourne, extracted those from each of his two bins and returned them to the
council with the message: “Please find enclosed my two wheelie bin bugs. As
Councillor Trevor Holmes [of Bourne Town Council] says, there is an agenda here
to get us eventually to Pay by Weight of rubbish. This would be an attack on low
income families. If parliament passes the Pay by Weight legislation, I will
comply with it. Until then, here are your bugs. Enjoy! - Brynley Heaven. P S:
Enclosed: two bugs.”
Mr Heaven was subsequently threatened with a fine of £1,000 for damaging council
property but after widespread coverage of his actions by the newspapers and
television, the council told him that there would be no prosecution this time
although his bins would not be emptied in the future although this restriction
has since been rescinded.
The Daily Mail now reports a 60% increase in the fitting of electronic
bugs and one local authority, Bristol City Council, is presenting its scheme as
a reward for recyclers with cash payments for homes that leave out less rubbish
(March 5th) although the contagion of chipped bins does mark the revival of the
tax scheme that the government appeared to have abandoned. In fact, the entire
scenario that has resurfaced is undoubtedly the prelude to more taxes in areas
where we are already paying substantial amounts for the services we are supposed
to receive.
This is to be expected because whenever governments fail in their primary duty
to protect the currency it is the people who have to pick up the tab and as
those in office become more profligate with public money then additional taxes
are a frequent necessity and although the lamps burn continually in the back
rooms at Whitehall, official ingenuity is now running short of ideas to keep the
machine oiled.
Another example of clumsy taxation has surfaced as a result of the cold winter
which has played havoc with our roads, leaving a moonscape of pot holes in many
urban areas including Bourne. A survey has revealed a 60% increase in such
damage throughout the country in the past two years with an estimated repair
cost of £70 per pot hole although local authorities also face claims for damage
by motorists who have ruined wheels and tyres. North Yorkshire County Council
has now come up with a new wheeze by demanding a pot hole levy on the council
tax, increasing bills by £4.50 in band D to pay for repair costs although it has
also been revealed that road repairs in the region have been needed for many
years, even before the severe sub-normal temperatures of this winter had
arrived, and this increase is regarded by many as an underhand method of paying
the bill.
We hope it does not catch on. Until now, Bourne has been able to benefit from an
initiative introduced by Lincolnshire County Council, the highways authority,
which itemises a pot hole code on its web site reminding us that the authority
has a statutory duty to maintain adopted roads and paths and is employing Pot
Hole Patrol Gangs who, it is claimed, will temporarily repair such defects
within 24 hours. These workmen have not always been evident around the town in
the past and as a result hazardous holes in the roads have proliferated and with
the current crop of new examples, many of them highly dangerous, their work will
be cut out for many months to come.
The streets around this town are now in probably the worst state they have been
for many years with some pot holes of gargantuan proportions and drivers are
advised to drive with extreme care until the county council sees fit to put them
right.
Tax initiatives must have a plausible context and are therefore linked to
recognisable trends in society. It would be impossible, for instance, for the
government today to introduce a window tax, although this was seen as a viable
option in this country during the 17th and 18th centuries when it was decided to
impose a levy relative to the prosperity of the taxpayer, the amount payable
calculated according to the number of the windows in each property although tax
avoidance in those days meant bricking up less used windows which still can be
seen in many buildings today as evidence of this ridiculous legislation which
was eventually repealed in 1851 although still remembered as having given rise
to the phrase daylight robbery.
The window tax demonstrates the desperation of government which has plunged
itself into a deep hole such as that dug by the current Labour government and
rather than take the advice offered by experience, continues to keep digging.
Whitehall has learned to its cost to keep its hands off the double glazing,
especially as so many homes now have garden extensions and conservatories which
would have been so lucrative in past times.
But we must not overlook the possibility of similarly unacceptable schemes that
might be introduced to squeeze the electorate, the latest being the imposition
of VAT on food, always sacrosanct since it was introduced in 1973 but now
considered to be fair game to help pay off our national debt which has in recent
months reached record proportions, and there will be others for in times of
hardship that has been inflicted from on high, it is always the people who have
to pay.
From the archives: Traffic is a sufficient problem to cause delays on the
roads of Bourne today but in past times animals could be equally hazardous, a
situation highlighted by a news report in the Stamford Mercury over a
century ago describing an incident involving a stampede of black cattle which
were being moved by rail on Sunday 29th November 1896. About 4 o'clock in the
morning, a railway worker heard a great commotion from one of the cattle trucks
in the freight yard near the station and found five steers trampling another
beast underfoot. The report went on:
Proceeding to liberate the endangered
animal, the other five escaped in all directions, careering up the lines, and
one madly rushed out on to the road and into a fen drain from which it was, with
some difficulty, pulled out later in the day. Two beasts headed towards Thurlby
and after some chasing were recaptured. One galloped to Morton and in the
afternoon was brought back with comparatively little trouble. Another located
itself near the gatehouse in Mill Drove and caused a great deal of trouble but
was eventually captured and driven back along the railway line to Bourne but
with a mad rush, escaped again and it was not until it had caused a great deal
of alarm to pedestrians in the town that towards evening, it was recaptured,
securely fastened and taken back to the station in a butcher's cart. The cattle
were eventually sent on their way to King's Lynn.
Spring is just a few days away although it has been
suggested in the national press that it has already begun on March 1st, which is
incorrect. Historically, the official date is the day of the vernal equinox
which usually occurs on the night of March 20th-21st, vernal coming originally
from the Latin word for bloom and refers to the fact that in the northern
hemisphere this time marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Those who keep an eye on the seasons will know that the birds tell us when
spring is imminent because by early March as it starts to get light earlier in
the mornings, many are already chirruping merrily away outside the window as
anyone who is awake at that hour can confirm.
This is also the time of year when our thoughts turn to the flowers of
May and the annual effort to make our town attractive for those who live here
and, more importantly, to visitors. The annual task of drumming up volunteers to
help enhance the appearance of our streets and parks is therefore underway
because 2010 could well be the year that Bourne wins a gold medal in the East
Midlands in Bloom competition.
The annual event is community based and designed to encourage cleaner, smarter
and more attractive town centres in the region. There are several sections and
Bourne falls into Category B Towns, those with a population of between 6,000 and
12,000, based on the last electoral register. The judges usually give a month’s
notice of their arrival and tour the town looking out for floral displays,
attractive and colourful gardens and parks and so it is important for everyone
to give special attention to those places under their control whether it is
merely the lawn and herbaceous borders or a public open space. Pupils from local
schools, the scouts and police cadets all help in keeping the streets and public
places clear of litter.
An indication of what is needed was given by one of the judges, Doug Stacey,
when he spoke to the town council in 2009. “The competition originated in France
and has been running for 45 years”, he said. “It leads to cleaner communities
and encourages people to work together and take pride in their town.”
The competition carries with it an involvement of the people and the chance to
make our streets attractive throughout the summer months, not just for the
judges but also for the many visitors who arrive here with Bourne either as a
destination or merely passing through. The work carried out in successive years
is the perfect example of how a small market town should look at this time of
the year and we should remember that if people like what they see then they will
come again.
In the past we have collected a silver award in 2006 and 2007 and silver gilt
awards in 2008 and 2009 but the town is still aiming for gold which will need a
total of 170-200 points and is classed as outstanding. Last year, the judges
said that this was achievable if bigger and better floral displays were on show
with herbaceous plants and shrubs added to provide more impact and to make the
displays more sustainable.
“We are still a long way from this but we keep improving and hope to do better
in the future”, said Mrs Nelly Jacobs, clerk to the town council. “But we do
need as many people as possible to help out and give up time to help with the
planting and general tidying up of the town centre.”
Thought for the week: With the coming of spring, I am calm again. -
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Austrian composer best known during his own lifetime
as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day.
Next diary entry 20th March 2010
NOTE:
An illustrated account of the wheelie bin scheme in Bourne
can be found
on the
CD-ROM A
Portrait of Bourne
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