More than 10,000 households sign up for paid-for garden waste collection

Croydon Council's Labour administration ended free collection of garden waste last November, blaming cuts to local government funding.

Sep 2015: More than 3,500 sign petition against Croydon Council garden waste charges

Sep 2015: Council to charge for garden waste collections - and will scrap service unless 18,000 households sign up

A public consultation was then held to see whether people would be prepared to pay for the service, amid Conservative accusations the the administration was trying to impose a "stealth tax" on residents.

At a full council meeting last night it was announced that more than 10,000 people had responded saying they would rather pay an annual fee to keep the fortnightly service than see it cut.

Councillor Stuart Collins, cabinet member for clean and green Croydon, told the meeting: "I am pleased to announce...we have got enough people to sign up, and it will be going ahead from April."

Coun Collins had previously said 18,000 people would need to sign up for the service to continue.

The annual cost of the service per household will be £55 using 140 litre wheeled bin, £60 for a 240 litre bin, and £105 for two 240 litre bins.

Less than a quarter of households in Croydon require garden waste collection, according to the council, despite it previously being funded by a universal charge.

A number of other London boroughs, including Sutton, Bexley and Merton, have introduced charges for the service in recent years.

Croydon Council is expecting the paid-for service to save it £1.5m a year.

Coun Collins also said that the council would be holding a 'mop-up' session for those who still wished to sign up, including people without internet access.

He added: "We have had a lot of debate about the issue but I'm sure everybody welcomes the fact that people can still get their garden waste collected.

How do you feel about paying for garden waste collection? Write to letters@croydonguardian.co.uk