My local council

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
Civil unrest?
Yeah lets do it.
Seriously I do not think it will come to that but people are getting annoyed over not the bin mens rules, but the tossers in the councils who impliment those rules, to the letter of the law.
Is it true that people can actually be fined for not being able to shut the lid properly?
Underhanded tactics to simply con more money out of the resident but....soon the very people who voted them in will be given a bigger say in the council tax rises every year. Nothing they all cry out, then the councils will have to put their thinking caps on and think of another way to extort money.
The plot thickens.

Kenny, you wanted cuts, you have them. Those people in the council are implementing what you wanted. So if you are calling them tossers for implenting something you wanted......then you must once again be calling yourself a tosser. rotflmao

You ain't half calling yourself some names over the past week. So far you have been a tosser and a wanker.......and all from your own hand
Dave_Notts
given the fact that the cuts have not taken place yet!! added to the fact that no matter who was in power there was going to be cuts anyway !!
and added that most of this is past tense I'm not really sure what your saying Dave

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob
Civil unrest?
Yeah lets do it.
Seriously I do not think it will come to that but people are getting annoyed over not the bin mens rules, but the tossers in the councils who impliment those rules, to the letter of the law.
Is it true that people can actually be fined for not being able to shut the lid properly?
Underhanded tactics to simply con more money out of the resident but....soon the very people who voted them in will be given a bigger say in the council tax rises every year. Nothing they all cry out, then the councils will have to put their thinking caps on and think of another way to extort money.
The plot thickens.

Kenny, you wanted cuts, you have them. Those people in the council are implementing what you wanted. So if you are calling them tossers for implenting something you wanted......then you must once again be calling yourself a tosser. rotflmao

You ain't half calling yourself some names over the past week. So far you have been a tosser and a wanker.......and all from your own hand
Dave_Notts
given the fact that the cuts have not taken place yet!! added to the fact that no matter who was in power there was going to be cuts anyway !!
and added that most of this is past tense I'm not really sure what your saying Dave
Tax payers, including me, have always wanted cuts to our payments. Councils have been under pressure for years to deliver these cuts. What you see now in the type of refuse service you receive are the results of these service cuts and savings.
The cuts to services have been going on for years and are not a recent thing. The last round of cuts have not settled yet and there are going to be another round.
Personally, I think Local and Central government has grown too much and some needs to be cut back. But the way this is achieved is by going across the board and not isolated.
So the tax payer wanted the cuts and the Local Government delivered it for them. To call them tossers for delivering what you wanted seems daft to me. Hope that makes sense, and welcome into Dave-Notts head :silly:
Dave_Notts

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
Tax payers, including me, have always wanted cuts to our payments. Councils have been under pressure for years to deliver these cuts. What you see now in the type of refuse service you receive are the results of these service cuts and savings.
The cuts to services have been going on for years and are not a recent thing. The last round of cuts have not settled yet and there are going to be another round.
Personally, I think Local and Central government has grown too much and some needs to be cut back. But the way this is achieved is by going across the board and not isolated.
So the tax payer wanted the cuts and the Local Government delivered it for them. To call them tossers for delivering what you wanted seems daft to me. Hope that makes sense, and welcome into Dave-Notts head :silly:
Dave_Notts

to me dave its never been about cuts in what we pay
there is and has been a vast amount of wastage on red tape, suicidal projects,and some very over paid heads of councils
i know site's like the tax payers alliance are disliked but why ?? because there happy to post a waste by waste account of local councils
i`d just like to see an honest non self serving ,value for money council dunno

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob
to me dave its never been about cuts in what we pay
there is and has been a vast amount of wastage on red tape, suicidal projects,and some very over paid heads of councils
The CEO and seniors in councils are overpaid. This is one thing that we can agree on. I believe there should be a cap on senior managers wages. How some can be justified when their pay is greater than that of the PM is beyond me.
Suicidal projects? Not sure what you mean but some "daft" projects I have witnessed from my council (Nottingham City Council) have actually paid off. One for example is Nottingham by Sea, where they turn the centre of the city into a beach. Mad as a hatter bunch they are...........but bugger me, it worked and the amount of people that flock to see it and spend the day, spend money and promote Nottingham is amazing. Now if it had fallen on its arse......then someone would have stood up and said "Oh what a waste of money". Because it has worked........nobody has said a thing, we just get on and enjoy our time at "the beach". I can name other projects that have worked..........and I can name a load more that fell on their arse.
Red tape is one of my pet hates. When I ask people what red tape do they want to see going they find it hard to say which ones. When trying to get someone being specific they tend to not answer and ignore the question. Health and Safety law is a good example. The last time a debate was had in the forum about red tape and H&S I asked the question of Kenny to name a specific piece of legislation that is too burdensome on business. There are so many to choose from that weeks, if not months down the line, he hasn't come back to name one. I can only assume that it is not red tape.
i know site's like the tax payers alliance are disliked but why ?? because there happy to post a waste by waste account of local councils
A lot of the "waste" that is talked about is waste to who? In the eyes of some it is waste, in others (the beneficiaries) it is money well spent.
The site like the Tax Payers Alliance is good if they know what they are talking about. I have read some of their comments and thought "Are you living in the real world?". If they want to speak on my behalf then they should put up a reasoned argument and look at all sides of the argument before making comment. If I wanted a sound bite then I would go listen to a politician or read the paper. That is why I am starting to dislike the Tax Payers Alliance, not because of the subject but the illinformed sound bites they are making.
i`d just like to see an honest non self serving ,value for money council
Wouldn't we all :thumbup:

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
You ain't half calling yourself some names over the past week. So far you have been a tosser and a wanker.......and all from your own hand

Not at all Davey....it is your strange interpretation of things. loon

That is why I asked today " have you been on the beer "?
If this makes you feel at any better I will add the set and call myself a fucking cun=!
Hows that now I have completed a set?
Feeling better now Davey? :giggle:

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
Tax payers, including me, have always wanted cuts to our payments. Councils have been under pressure for years to deliver these cuts.

Of course people wanted cuts as most thought they were paying too much, year on year for their services from their councils. Where were the councils under pressure? All anyone sees is the huge rises in their council taxes every year, with no improvements.

Quote by Dave__Notts
What you see now in the type of refuse service you receive are the results of these service cuts and savings.

The Government stepping in to let the residents have a say in council tax rises has only just been announced, yet my bin collection went fortnightly 18 months ago.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with cuts, it was purely in my borough to be seen as more environmentally friendly over normal rubbish collection, as the more friendly they seem the more money they get from national Government. Hence why Bexley is one of the highest in the land for environmental collection of plastics and glass, but to the detriment of the everyday rubbish which people need collected more often than every two weeks.
My council tax has risen from £745 seven years ago to the current ammount of £1245.....that is a huge rise for no return in the services I get, to what I was getting seven years ago, and on top of that the most important thing to me is my rubbish collection, which was every week but now every two weeks.
Still not for much longer when National Government force them back to weekly collections.
For me if I get no rises in my council tax next year I will be very happy, as apart from my bins getting emptied the rest of the services have no bearing on me at all.

8 Aug 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
Not at all Davey....it is your strange interpretation of things.
That is why I asked today " have you been on the beer "?
If this makes you feel at any better I will add the set and call myself a fucking cun=!
Hows that now I have completed a set?
Feeling better now Davey? :giggle:

If you want to call yourself a wanker, tosser or a fucking cunt then feel free to do so. Who am I to argue with what you call yourself dunno

The intsy, tinsy, little bit that you missed off was the rest of the post Kenny. As explained to Robs query above, that is how I came about my conclusion. The tax payer is the one who wants the changes and the council workers do our bidding. So as you are a tax payer, by constantly calling these people names over your own bidding (as you are a tax payer as you have metioned this once or twice) then you must be calling yourself these names as well. Nothing strange at all in that I would have thought.
Dave_Notts

8 Aug 2010

Depends entirely on what side of the fence you are sitting on Davey.
You seem very happy with your council and the grand plus a year you give to them...that is of course your prerogative to think that way but....for me I feel I do not get value for money.
As was mentioned in another thread about the big fish bollocks put up in Erith, at a cost of christ knows how much now...cannot remember.
Nobody in the public domain wanted it or were indeed consulted over it but there it is...a waste of money that would have been better spent on more important things.
Many other examples of my mad council but as your mind is made up, and you do not live in this area, then you are not privy to the local knowledge around here, as I am not in yours either.
I think that a lot of people would say they pay too much for very little in return, and the law of averages would say that if you came up with ten mad ways to waste money, then one of them would be a success and the other nine a waste of money by mad people in council chambers.
Your example of the beach ( though who would want to go on holiday in Nottingham by sea baffles me lol

)must be the one out of ten example.

8 Aug 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
Of course people wanted cuts as most thought they were paying too much, year on year for their services from their councils. Where were the councils under pressure? All anyone sees is the huge rises in their council taxes every year, with no improvements.
It is the way that Central Government is funding the Councils. By cutting the grants year on year, or term on term, then they had to increase Council Tax just to keep the services and thats without improving them. Sometimes I wonder how they manage to keep all the services going.
The Government stepping in to let the residents have a say in council tax rises has only just been announced, yet my bin collection went fortnightly 18 months ago.
See above, it is not a new thing
It had nothing whatsoever to do with cuts, it was purely in my borough to be seen as more environmentally friendly over normal rubbish collection, as the more friendly they seem the more money they get from national Government. Hence why Bexley is one of the highest in the land for environmental collection of plastics and glass, but to the detriment of the everyday rubbish which people need collected more often than every two weeks.
If you have a look at one of my earlier posts then you will notice I already said it does not matter if it is a public or private industry. If it is dressed up as a saving then it will be given the green light, and then they will sell it as environmetally friendly. See, you made my point as you fell for it. What they were doing is being forced down this route to make savings which the tax payer wants.
My council tax has risen from £745 seven years ago to the current ammount of £1245.....that is a huge rise for no return in the services I get, to what I was getting seven years ago, and on top of that the most important thing to me is my rubbish collection, which was every week but now every two weeks.
Yep, the cuts in the grants necessitated the rise in the Council Tax. It is Central Governments way to rob Peter and pay Paul. It would be better to have a one tax fits all and everybody gets the same across the board. But that is a pipedream of mine.
Still not for much longer when National Government force them back to weekly collections.
They may do, yet are calling for cuts. To achieve it they will have to cut some other service. So someone will be upset either way. My own personal view is that I can manage on this system, others must be lazy to not be able to.
For me if I get no rises in my council tax next year I will be very happy, as apart from my bins getting emptied the rest of the services have no bearing on me at all.
I am glad you do not use any other service. So you wouldn't mind no police, fire, libraries, schools, highway maintenace, etc.
You will find that the cost of emptying your bins is about 30-50p a week. Why don't you contact the council and get them to not collect this amount and you can set up a private collection. Lets see if you can get a collection service for that.

Dave_Notts

8 Aug 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
I think that a lot of people would say they pay too much for very little in return, and the law of averages would say that if you came up with ten mad ways to waste money, then one of them would be a success and the other nine a waste of money by mad people in council chambers.

Lots of community initiatives going on around here. We have a number of Leisure Centres within a bus ride from us. Have music festivals, sports days, historic battles, Christmas trees and light ups, in fact loads of things.
Do I think I pay too much, well of course I do as nobody in their right mind enjoys paying taxes. But when I sit down and look at what is on offer then there are a lot of opportunities that I have no interest in, but I can see past my nose and do not begrudge those that do want those activities a chance of having fun and enjoyment. Thats because I know I will find something that does interest me and my family.
Dave_Notts

8 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
You will find that the cost of emptying your bins is about 30-50p a week. Why don't you contact the council and get them to not collect this amount and you can set up a private collection. Lets see if you can get a collection service for that.

A private collection? I already do Davey through my business, which btw I pay 15 quid a week for, as my business rates of four grand a year, does not even pay for rubbish collection, in fact for that money I get no benefit at all for my business.
I could easily put my rubbish in my car and stick it in my bin I use at work, but why the feck should I as at least when they do eventually come round every second Thursday it seems that I am getting something for my money.
As I have said before, in total I pay give or take £5300 quid a year for both sets of rates, and I see no value whatsoever for that huge ammount of money.
On top of that money 15 quid every week to get my business rubbish taken away, which is a further £ 780 quid on top of all the other money....someone is getting value for all that money and it certainly is not me or my business.

8 Aug 2010

So 30-50p a week is a darn sight cheaper than your private contractor at £15 per week. There is value for money then. Can't all be that bad really lol

Business rates are paid by all businesses. If you don't want to pay it then sell it and move on. Your choice to start a business. That is something that a business should vector in when starting up.
You pay £1500 approx. Of that about 80-85% goes to the Police, Fire and County. The other 15-20% goes to the district. So for about £200 you get all the other services. Just because you do not use them that is your choice alone.
Dave_Notts

8 Aug 2010

Your not married to Kay Cutts are you by any chance? wink

8 Aug 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
Your not married to Kay Cutts are you by any chance?

Care to explain who they are and what reference to me?
Dave_Notts
In Edit: I know what you have done. Even though I have already posted in this thread that my local council is Nottingham City Council........you have Googled Nottinghamshire County Council.
There is a difference. The City is a Unitary Authority and the County deals with the rest of the County excluding the City. Outside of the City, there are also Distict Councils. So for example Rushcliffe Council do some functions and the County does other functions.
In Nottingham City Council all the functions are done by the City Council.
Easy mistake to make and I know you are prone to them. Anybody could have made it, don't be hard on yourself lol

9 Aug 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
Tax payers, including me, have always wanted cuts to our payments. Councils have been under pressure for years to deliver these cuts.

Of course people wanted cuts as most thought they were paying too much, year on year for their services from their councils. Where were the councils under pressure? All anyone sees is the huge rises in their council taxes every year, with no improvements.

Quote by Dave__Notts
What you see now in the type of refuse service you receive are the results of these service cuts and savings.

The Government stepping in to let the residents have a say in council tax rises has only just been announced, yet my bin collection went fortnightly 18 months ago.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with cuts, it was purely in my borough to be seen as more environmentally friendly over normal rubbish collection, as the more friendly they seem the more money they get from national Government. Hence why Bexley is one of the highest in the land for environmental collection of plastics and glass, but to the detriment of the everyday rubbish which people need collected more often than every two weeks.
My council tax has risen from £745 seven years ago to the current ammount of £1245.....that is a huge rise for no return in the services I get, to what I was getting seven years ago, and on top of that the most important thing to me is my rubbish collection, which was every week but now every two weeks.
Still not for much longer when National Government force them back to weekly collections.
For me if I get no rises in my council tax next year I will be very happy, as apart from my bins getting emptied the rest of the services have no bearing on me at all.
As usual you appear lamentably misinformed.
The primary way of disposing of non recyclable waste in the UK is via landfill. Unfortunately there's a shortage of landfill sites, and the policy of simply dumping our waste underground for our grandchildren to deal with is unsustainable.
So government started imposing a tax per ton of landfill, that applies to councils and private contractors alike. Helpfully, they called it landfill tax. I think it's around £48 per ton now.
So every ton of recyclables your council collects saves you and your fellow taxpayers £48.
Love your recyclable bin Ken, it's saving you money. Go on, give it a hug and a cuddle, it's a little money box at the bottom of your garden....
And if you start thinking maybe your beloved new government will abolish landfill tax, think again. The Tories introduced it.

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
So 30-50p a week is a darn sight cheaper than your private contractor at £15 per week. There is value for money then. Can't all be that bad really
Business rates are paid by all businesses. If you don't want to pay it then sell it and move on. Your choice to start a business. That is something that a business should vector in when starting up.
You pay £1500 approx. Of that about 80-85% goes to the Police, Fire and County. The other 15-20% goes to the district. So for about £200 you get all the other services. Just because you do not use them that is your choice alone.
Dave_Notts

So sorry, I just have to respond to Dave's comment here.
When we set up our business over 25 years ago (which we have since closed and moved on wink

) the Non Domestic Rate (NDR) was not at all excessive and was not only easy to "vector" in but affordable too!
Then our friends in red (the business haters) came to power and successively increased the NDR whilst providing nothing for it at all. We had to pay extra for waste collection and at one point, the cheeky bar steward (now living the high life in the Lords) was even contemplating legislation that would require us to pay extra for each car parking space we had in our car park! A rating review imposed on us because we found we had been overpaying NDR for 15 years on derelict farm buildings which were not part of the business meant that our NDR actually increased but we could not claim back any overpayment which then tipped the RV over the small business relief level meaning that, as a small business, we were then paying a levy to help fund the discounted NDR to other small business.
I am curious about your assertion that "for about £200 you get all the other services". What services? the NDR imposition provides nothing from the LA. The LA is the collection agency, nothing more. Any money retained by them is pure bunce. As for the Police, in over 25 years of running our business, we only ever called on that agency once. They didn't bother to respond.
/rant over

9 Aug 2010

are they rose tinted bi focal's you wearing dave ??
come on dave base line services should be Paramount first with obscure changes to things like road junctions the work perfectly as they are
our local council spent 2 million a year over 3 years trying to encourage new business to the area. only to find they had made it difficult for any one other than huge warehouse distributors to actually trade because of there own restrictions on industrial units
we have a 10 year old trading estate of 3-4000 square foot units that are all empty as the council will not grant change of use dunno

nothing wasted though
go figure that one

9 Aug 2010

Quote by GnV
So 30-50p a week is a darn sight cheaper than your private contractor at £15 per week. There is value for money then. Can't all be that bad really
Business rates are paid by all businesses. If you don't want to pay it then sell it and move on. Your choice to start a business. That is something that a business should vector in when starting up.
You pay £1500 approx. Of that about 80-85% goes to the Police, Fire and County. The other 15-20% goes to the district. So for about £200 you get all the other services. Just because you do not use them that is your choice alone.
Dave_Notts

So sorry, I just have to respond to Dave's comment here.
When we set up our business over 25 years ago (which we have since closed and moved on wink

) the Non Domestic Rate (NDR) was not at all excessive and was not only easy to "vector" in but affordable too!
Then our friends in red (the business haters) came to power and successively increased the NDR whilst providing nothing for it at all. We had to pay extra for waste collection and at one point, the cheeky bar steward (now living the high life in the Lords) was even contemplating legislation that would require us to pay extra for each car parking space we had in our car park! A rating review imposed on us because we found we had been overpaying NDR for 15 years on derelict farm buildings which were not part of the business meant that our NDR actually increased but we could not claim back any overpayment which then tipped the RV over the small business relief level meaning that, as a small business, we were then paying a levy to help fund the discounted NDR to other small business.
I am curious about your assertion that "for about £200 you get all the other services". What services? the NDR imposition provides nothing from the LA. The LA is the collection agency, nothing more. Any money retained by them is pure bunce. As for the Police, in over 25 years of running our business, we only ever called on that agency once. They didn't bother to respond.
/rant over
Totally agree GnV. I have always wondered what a business got out of it. Absolutley nothing I believe. It is just a tax generator made by central government, pure and simple. All these little bits of tax here and tax there IMO should have a simplified system. It would cut costs, I believe, by having one central tax collection rather than all these bits and bobs all over the place.
The £200 to your local district council pays for all the other services that are in place. Just Google any district council and up will pop all the departments that are there. This is what the £200 is for. Do you ever need them? Hopefully not, but the day you do need them people will be thankful that they are. It is all relative to need really. Same with the police. These services are always a waste of money until the day you need them.
As for your time with the police, to give an answer to that I would need to know the detail from you and them as to why they did not respond. Priorities would be my first thought, as a murder or serious assault would be take precedent over a burglary. I have heard some really bad cases though where the police did not respond and I ain't that daft to think they are great in every respect, but overall they do a good job all in all.
Dave_Notts

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob
are they rose tinted bi focal's you wearing dave ??
come on dave base line services should be Paramount first with obscure changes to things like road junctions the work perfectly as they are
our local council spent 2 million a year over 3 years trying to encourage new business to the area. only to find they had made it difficult for any one other than huge warehouse distributors to actually trade because of there own restrictions on industrial units
we have a 10 year old trading estate of 3-4000 square foot units that are all empty as the council will not grant change of use
nothing wasted though
go figure that one

Perhaps they can't. I am not an expert in Planning Legislation but somethings cannot be changed on a local level.
If they did to please business, then the locals could challenge it and get it changed back. Then you would say that is a waste of money. Damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Dave_Notts

9 Aug 2010

and the six million they wasted not getting any new business dunno

9 Aug 2010

This is an interesting debate for sure.
I am always open to new ideas, but frankly I have seen nothing for me to change my mind.
The only bloody thing I am interested in is getting my bins emptied once a week, not sitting outside my door smelling like a mans boxers who has had the shits for a month. blink

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Dave__Notts
are they rose tinted bi focal's you wearing dave ??
come on dave base line services should be Paramount first with obscure changes to things like road junctions the work perfectly as they are
our local council spent 2 million a year over 3 years trying to encourage new business to the area. only to find they had made it difficult for any one other than huge warehouse distributors to actually trade because of there own restrictions on industrial units
we have a 10 year old trading estate of 3-4000 square foot units that are all empty as the council will not grant change of use
nothing wasted though
go figure that one

Perhaps they can't. I am not an expert in Planning Legislation but somethings cannot be changed on a local level.
If they did to please business, then the locals could challenge it and get it changed back. Then you would say that is a waste of money. Damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Dave_Notts
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away Dave. It is a matter for local determination. The plain fact is, LA's are reluctant to give up a business classification because of the "bunce" factor!
As for my comment on our experience with the Police, we had a vehicle dumped in our car park which had broken down. It was full (and I mean full) of knocked off gear. When we told the Police this, they said it was our responsibility to dispose of the "stolen" goods and the vehicle as the vehicle was now on our premises. I reminded the Officer that his authority for us to lay claim to the goods was recorded on tape to which he agreed. We disposed of the goods to assist in the costs of the removal of the vehicle. We telephoned them within minutes of the vehicle being dumped (as we also lived on site). The perpetrators would still have been on foot in the vicinity as our premises were some distance from any other forms of transport. They showed classic disregard even though in the past we had provided them with assistance in the form of cover for "obbos" which later resulted in the arrest of people for serious crime.
Not life threatening stuff, granted - but it just goes to show that we are expected to help them but they provide little in return even when you do the "proper citizen" sort of stuff.

9 Aug 2010

Mind you this made me laugh at it's pure madness...

Some idiot then wrote..." A spokesman for Hertfordshire Highways, a department at Hertfordshire County Council, said: 'During the summer months we carry out extensive maintenance works to miles of white lines and occasionally incidents like this occur ".
They are having a laugh...yes?
What kind of morons do some councils employ fgs?
But then we know it is soooooooooo much cheaper to just paint over a pot hole, rather than to do the decent thing and repair the bloody thing. :twisted:

9 Aug 2010

Ya gotta larf innit.

9 Aug 2010

I anybody else not amused that mr angry of tunbridge wells and his pressure group make a headline and a photo in a national newspaper?
Beggars belief really dont it.

9 Aug 2010

No need for painting lines here. lol

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Ben_welshminx
I anybody else not amused that mr angry of tunbridge wells and his pressure group make a headline and a photo in a national newspaper?
Beggars belief really dont it.

When did Hertfordshire become subsumed with Kent?

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Kaznkev
This is an interesting debate for sure.
I am always open to new ideas, but frankly I have seen nothing for me to change my mind.
The only bloody thing I am interested in is getting my bins emptied once a week, not sitting outside my door smelling like a mans boxers who has had the shits for a month.

i think we are jsut going to have to accept we re not going back to weekly collections,it would cost too much.
But your bin shouldnt smell tht bad! What are you throwing away,is there a lot of cooked food waste?Looking at your use and waste products might be worth doing.
pourquoi?
We live in the back end of nowhere in a remote(ish) part of rural France and our bins are collected weekly. Recyclables are collected 2 weekly. We pay as much per year for this service (and more!) than most people in UK pay per month!! When we arrive at pensionable age, I don't think we will pay at all for the service!!
It can be done. LA's ingratiating themselves with unjustified massive salaries and pension funds and funding looney left hair brained schemes are the reason that essential PH services like bin collection suffer!

9 Aug 2010

I believe "angry of tunbridge wells" may be a cultural icon popularised by media other than the tabloids.
Nobody else amused then?
A wise man once said that the most important thing a council could do was empty the bins cos folk dont really give a shit about anything else.

Quote by GnV
I anybody else not amused that mr angry of tunbridge wells and his pressure group make a headline and a photo in a national newspaper?
Beggars belief really dont it.

When did Hertfordshire become subsumed with Kent?

9 Aug 2010

Quote by Ben_welshminx
Nobody else amused then?

Not at this moment in time it seems.

Quote by Ben_welshminx
A wise man once said that the most important thing a council could do was empty the bins cos folk dont really give a shit about anything else.

You know a lot of wise men, and this one in particular speaks very wise words.
If you asked a thousand people what they get for their money, I would guess that 99% of people would say without even thinking....getting their bins emptied.
The rest are secondary to most.
GNV also has a great point about cost so yes of course it can be done, but the councils are now in the spotlight of what they are spending OUR money on, and they don't like in my opinion have used the rubbish collection to their great advantage as it is the most important thing to most people.
Yes everything is always down to cost, even my business is but....the council tax payers in general know a con when they see one with regards to bin collection and the draconian measures some councils use if you put the wrong rubbish in, or put your bin out too early, or overfill it a tad.
I have heard of 100 quid fines ffs.....Maybe they should be fined everytime they cock up, blimey they would run out of money in September.
A funny thing happened this morning when I rang up my local council which is Gravesham....the first thing the automated voice said was... " if you want to make a payment press 1 ". No suprise there then, all about the money.