Dear Sir,
I  sent a copy of the following letter to Durham County Council:
I want to comment on the charge for the garden waste bin. I would not have paid for it this year if I had known the bins would only be collected until 16th October, for goodness sake!
The hanging baskets and pots are still in full flower. The trees full of leaves and I am still bagging leaves from the Council trees in the woods behind our house!
I must point out Newton Aycliffe  Council tax is one of the highest in the Country, yet the County still charge £20 to empty garden waste, and not even when the collection is most needed (after 16th October).
I would also like to comment on the number of Councillors we have for Newton Aycliffe, far too many for such a small town. We could save a lot of money by getting rid of some of them. They get a huge allowance, plus huge expenses, and it would save a lot of money and maybe the Council wouldn’t need to squeeze more money out of the Council tax payers with another Council tax increase.
Councillors should have fought to stop the Council charging for the poor garden waste service and the  Council Tax increase. We know why they don’t  of course.
Mrs J Taylor