Calderdale bin collections: Calderdale councillors agree £3m bin wagon spending as current fleet reaches 'end of life'

In a meeting on Monday, Cabinet members agreed to purchase the new fleet at a cost of up to £3m, and recommend to full council that they borrow the money for the wagons.

Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Coun Danielle Durrans (Lab, Ovenden) said the move will “improve reliability for residents and give a greater flexibility for any future service delivery”.

The purchase of a new fleet was one of three options laid out in the Report of the Director of Public Services – the other two being refurbishing the existing fleet, and hiring replacement or spare wagons.

The report also stated: “The current fleet of waste and recycling vehicles has been in operation since 2016.

"Having effectively reached ‘end of life’, many are now requiring significant refurbishment work to allow them to continue through the two-year extension with Suez.

“Given there are around 50 vehicles (across collection, disposal, and delivery services) currently on the waste and recycling fleet, phasing the purchase of replacements is considered practical, puts less immediate pressure on council finances by spreading the costs of borrowing, and avoids the need to introduce a whole new fleet at the same time.”

Coun Durrans said the new fleet would help tackle some operational issues, such as accessing narrow streets and roads with more parked cars, which can impact waste collections

She added: “Our refuse vehicles are eight years old and because of their age, there is also an environmental benefit of a brand new fleet because continuing to operate with an eight-year-old set of vehicles impacts on our clean air and fuel sources.”

Referring to the report, Coun Durrans added: “[It] concludes that the purchase of the new fleet of 13 vehicles will offer the best value for money in terms of risk value management for us as a local authority, in our services delivery, environmental impact, and the strategic flexibility for our future.”

During the questions-to-cabinet, opposition group leader Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said: “How does the cabinet plan to accommodate the repayments from this capital spending?

“At the last budget council meeting we saw future cuts across services and now, if you go ahead with this borrowing, what future cuts will be necessary?”

In response, Coun Silvia Dacre - cabinet member for Resources - said: “We don’t want an ageing [fleet] subject to break down which provides a worse service to our residents so it is absolutely crucial that the council does everything it can to ensure it has assets that are fit for purpose.

“We have a medium-term financial plan which we regularly review our future costs and again that will help us consider any impact that this decision will make.

“This is a sensible decision, a necessary decision and one that the council can afford.”

Coun Dacre added that purchasing the new fleet will allow the council to obtain the asset, giving it more control over future decisions.

The report states the 13 RCVs will service 10 refuse and two garden waste rounds, with one spare vehicle to cover planned maintenance.