Tears as councillor foots South Hams waste collection bill

Councillor Nicky Hopwood apologised for misinterpreting the rules and said she would foot the bill out of her own pocket

A councillor in Devon was reduced to tears as she agreed to pay a £3,500 bill for a garden waste collection.

Nicky Hopwood arranged for a collection by a private firm after South Hams District Council ran into problems with its waste management company, FCC.

She told residents in Woolwell it would be paid for out of her "locality budget," a fund that supports local projects which benefit the community.

However, she was advised by the council the fund could not be spent this way.

Ms Hopwood, a Conservative councillor, told colleagues she would now pay the bill "out of my own pocket".

South Hams District Council in Devon suspended collections in August, blaming a lack of lorry drivers.

Ms Hopwood said she misinterpreted the advice she had been given and contracted the alternative waste collection firm without authorisation from the council.

The matter was brought to a sometimes-heated, special executive committee meeting on Thursday, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

On 16 October Cllr Hopwood posted on her Facebook page to say she had found a waste management company to collect the bins free of charge for residents in Woolwell with the payment coming from her locality budget.

Ms Hopwood was later informed her actions were not authorised and could not be paid for out of the locality budget.

Brown bin collections were suspended by South Hams District Council in August as it ran into problems with its waste collection contractor

Ms Hopwood apologised to the executive group and said: "After misunderstanding the advice given I went ahead with what I had organised in all good faith."

She told the committee she had been advised that not only was the organising of waste collections against what the executive had agreed (to suspend the garden waste services), but that she also could not use the locality budget to pay for it.

Councillors then heard a recommendation that the executive "reviews the learning from Woolwell and authorises payment for the services of the private contractor".

Ms Hopwood remained out the committee room for much of the time the discussion took place.

After detailed debate, the recommendation that the council pay for the mistake was withdrawn.

Ms Hopwood briefly returned to the committee room and was in tears as she addressed members of the executive again.

She said: "After listening to the debate and not wishing to bring this council into disrepute, which is why I made my apology in the beginning, I will pay the invoice for £3,500 for the collection of garden waste within the ward I proudly represent, Woolwell, out of my own pocket.

"I hope this brings to an end to the matter."

Garden waste collections in the South Hams were suspended in August and residents were told, last month, that the service would not be restored until at least spring 2022.