My mother is 90 years of age, has a blue disabled badge (but no car), and a battery powered buggy for getting to the local shops. She lives alone in a bungalow in the Woking area. Woking BC have a policy of enforcing residents to have large plastic wheelie bins. My mother has three. A black one for general waste, a blue one for recyclable items and a green one for garden waste.
Residents are expected to put these bins onto their driveways for the fortnightly collection.
My mum struggles to do this, especially with the large black bin.
Today she rang the council to request a smaller black bin. I was shocked to hear that she could only have a smaller bin if she paid 40 GB pounds for it. She is living on a state pension, so this is a significant expense and it's necessity is causing her anxiety.
Over the last couple of years Woking Borough Council have been drastically cutting their services to their residents.
There was a Library van that came to the local area once a week. That no longer happens and my mum cannot get into Woking. So no more library books for her.
The local verges and public spaces used to be kept trimmed and the grass cut. The verges now look a disgrace with foot long grass and a mass of weeds.
The Woking Borough Council area is a place to avoid, especially if you are old and need a bit of extra support.
Peewit
A local lock on the Basingstoke canal
