Furious Inbetweeners star James Buckley goes on scathing council tax rant after binmen refuse to collect his garden waste: 'Why are you taking more money off me and doing less?'
The 37-year-old, who reportedly lives in Chelmsford, Essex, ranted about the annual fee for brown bin collections introduced by the council.
Since March, the Lib Dem-run Chelmsford City Council began charging an annual fee of £60 for one brown bin to be collected and an extra £30 for a second, despite increasing council tax by 2.9 per cent.
James took a moment to complain about the change during an episode of The Buckleys - the podcast he runs with his wife Clair.
'Hey, I've got something to moan about. It's annoyed me. It's f***ing irritated me,' he said before explaining how his brown bin wasn't collected and instead slapped with a sticker demanding payment.
The actor, who played Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners, continued: 'It said 'Oh, by the way you need to go to this website now and pay for us, we are now charging to take away garden waste'.
'I'm like what do you mean you're now charging? Don't f***ing start that s**t.
''Oh, we're now charging' as if to say 'before we did it for free'. No, no, no, we were always f***ing paying for it, it's called council tax.
'What's next? What are you gonna do next?
'Has my council tax come down? No, is the answer to that question. Has it gone up? Yes, is the answer to that question.
'Why are you f***ing taking more money off me and doing less? And everyone up and down the country is saying the exact same f***ing thing - what the f**k is going on?'
Chelmsford City Council introduced the opt-in garden waste subscription service in order to plug its 'budget gap'.
If residents choose not to subscribe, the council recommends buying a subsidised compost bin from Essex County Council or taking their garden waste to local recycling centre.
Despite claims on 'financial challenges' at Chelmsford City Council, at least four top councillors take home a hefty wage over £100,000.
Chief Executive Nick Everleigh's total salary is a whopping £251,395 - more than the Prime Minister.
And Director of connected Chelmsford Louise Green is paid a generous £170,288 a year.
A section about garden waste fees on Chelmsford City Council's website reads: 'Many councils are facing significant financial challenges and must look at ways to balance their budgets.
'We have an ongoing financial shortfall. This is because the money we raise from our 10% share of Council Tax, government funding and other sources is not enough to cover our costs.
'Council costs have been increasing due to pressures such as rising homelessness, high inflation and the impact of higher interest rates. Council income, on the other hand, is lagging behind these extra costs. We estimate that we have 'lost' real terms government funding of around £11m a year since 2010/11.
'In October 2024, our Annual Financial Review identified a projected total budget shortfall of £13.3m for the period until 2030. Within that, it also predicted a deficit of £4m for the 2025-26 financial year. Government announcements have increased our fears that our financial position will not improve in future years.
'Along with other measures, the garden waste subscription will help to reduce the shortfall. This will help us to protect essential services and put our finances on a sustainable path.
'Councils have a duty to collect household waste free of charge. However, the collection of garden waste is not a statutory service under the "Controlled Waste Regulations 2012". This means that local councils do not have an obligation to collect garden waste. They have a choice to provide this service or not.
'Many councils have collected garden waste without any additional charges in the past. However, due to national budget pressures, most councils now charge for this service. Introducing a collection charge allows us to continue providing this much-valued service.'
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