There are not enough drivers or bin lorries to keep up with demand, the councillor in charge of the service has revealed.

Councillor Chris Watts has responded after controversy surrounding the town's bin collections in recent weeks.

He said that the previous Conservative administration had left little or no contingency in the waste service to cover holidays and sickness which is why issues were arising now. 

It comes after two Conservative councillors, Daniel Adams and Jake Chandler, wrote a letter of concern to Cllr Watts, the new Labour cabinet member for highways and the environment.

In his letter, Cllr Watts referenced that there had been a series of challenges for the service over the last few years, with a national shortage of HGV drivers caused by Brexit, as well as Covid and then policies surrounding how to handle dropped/missed collections having a knock-on effect on further rounds. 

He said: "In order to rectify the current issue, three new drivers have been recruited. One has started this week, one next week and the third has decided not to take up the role, therefore the process will begin again to fill this position.

"Employing further drivers at this point is unlikely to help significantly as there is a shortage of serviceable vehicles in an ageing and obsolete fleet, with some vehicles being used for spare parts.

"A new fleet of vehicles is due to be delivered over the next three months. Whilst it was only intended to bring these into service when the new waste and recycling regime goes live in the autumn, it has now been agreed that a proportion of these vehicles will go live sooner."

Cllr Watts also added that there were plans to create new driver/loader positions to allow for more flexibility and proactiveness when there is sickness and shortages, and plans to overhaul the computer systems used by the council to manage waste collections.

He finished his statement by praising waste collection staff, laying the blame for the issues solely away from them. 

"I repeat that I am particularly impressed by the efforts and dedication of the staff. The resource deficit is very much a historic council administration problem that we as the new administration are determined to resolve.

"It is incumbent on my fellow cabinet members and I to resolve the resource issues, not only for the residents of the borough but also for all the employees who have stepped up.”