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Gardening service

Published: 15/07/2014

A gardening service charge for council tenants, introduced earlier in the year, is to be suspended to prepare for a full consultation, a Cabinet meeting will hear on Tuesday (15 July). A full review of the new chargeable gardening service will be undertaken after the initial project encountered problems. All those tenants living in sheltered housing, and those who are disabled and received the service before April, and have no one to help them, will have the service reinstated free of charge until October this year. The service will still be available as a chargeable service on the terms previously agreed for any new customers who did not receive the service pre April 2014. A detailed consultation with all tenants who may be affected by the introduction of charging for services will begin and once completed, recommendations for a phased introduction will be considered by Cabinet. Welsh Government has developed a list of service charging activities, and requires all local authorities, who have not already done so, to commence a policy of introducing charging for services from 2015. Councillor Helen Brown, Cabinet Member for Housing said: “Keeping gardens in good condition is a condition of tenancy. The recent introduction of the chargeable garden service has led to a number of gardens not being cut leading to some unsightly areas on council estates. It’s important that we get the service right to make sure tenants are getting value for money from the gardening service.”