WEEKLY bin collections, free weekend car parking and 500 jobs are all to be axed in the latest round of town hall cuts.

As Blackburn with Darwen Council revealed its controversial plans it was also announced there will be an introduction of a new parking charge at Witton Park, as well as a £25 charge for green waste collections.

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Town Hall bosses have also forecast council tax rises of 3.99 per cent annually, approximately £40 for the average Band D household, over the next three years.

Critics slammed the proposals as ‘scandalous’ with leading opposition councillors accusing the Labour administration of ‘conning’ voters by concealing the cuts before May’s local government polls.

He said the changes, especially to bin collections, should have been in Labour’s election manifesto, accusing the party of ‘fraud on the electorate’.

However, council finance chief, Cllr Andy Kay, blamed the government for the cutbacks as he tries to find another £140 million savings over three years.

The weekend announcement followed the borough executive board on Thursday confirming a £1 charge for previously free ‘re:fresh’ health and fitness activities at council leisure centres.

It also ended two specialist targeted services for 108 teenage and vulnerable mothers of under-twos, merging them into the main Health Visitor service for 11,000 mums with under-fives.

Key proposals expected to be rubber stamped at Thursday’s full ‘Council Forum’ include:

- moving from weekly residual waste bin collection in burgundy bins to fortnightly collection alternated with grey bins for recyclable waste from October 1;

- a £25-a-year charge for collecting green waste, dubbed the ‘garden tax’ by Cllr Slater;

- an end to the free parking at weekends in council owned car parks in Blackburn town centre introduced in 2012, which follows April’s controversial scrapping of the ‘free after three’ concession;

- bringing a charge of 50p or £1 for using the Preston Old Road car park at Witton Park for users; and

-axing another 500 jobs, one fifth of the current council workforce of more than 2,300, over the next three years to save £13million.

The most controversial cutback is the move from weekly general rubbish collections, to alternating with recycling collection on fortnightly basis along with the new charge for collecting green waste in brown bins.

Cllr Slater said: “This is a mistake.

“Earlier this year the council denied this was on the cards and there was no mention of it in any Labour literature before Mays’ local elections.

“They conned voters and now announce this unpopular plan and new ‘garden tax’ knowing there are no polls for 20 months.

“This is fraud on the electorate.

“Abolishing free car parking at weekends is short-sighted and will hit businesses and shops in the town centre.

“Doing this while proposing to increase council tax by £40 a year for most households for three years is simply scandalous.”

Chamber of Trade boss Mr Duckworth said: “The weekend car park charge is miserable, unfriendly and short-sighted.

“It will put people off coming to the town centre and spending money, hitting shops and businesses of all sizes.”

Borough environment boss, Cllr Jim Smith, said: “Changing to alternate weekly collection will increase recycling and helping environment.

“Our rate is 36 per cent and the government target is 50.

“The saving on bin rounds is £200,000-a-year but if we hit the target we will save another £500,000 annually.

“Provision will be made for larger households, who are recycling, to change their 140 litre burgundy bin to a 240 litre equivalent.

“The garden waste service is not a legal requirement.”

Only Ribble Valley in Lancashire maintains weekly general rubbish collection. Hyndburn collects alternate weeks.

Borough finance boss, Cllr Andy Kay, said: “Free weekend parking in Blackburn town centre was a temporary measure to help traders over disruption which now finished.

“Evidence suggests the trading is strengthening.

“Scrapping ‘Free after Three’ has made little difference and we do not expect this to have a significant effect.

“The income generated by the parking charge at Witton Park will upgrade lighting and offset costs.

“We have met our 2013 target of reducing the council’s workforce of 2,800 by 500 and now another 500 will have to go affecting services and residents.

“After major cuts in government support over the last six years, we now have to find new savings of £140m by 2020.

“These major changes agreed last week are the only option and it is wrong for Cllr Slater to attack cuts forced on the council by his government.”