Breckland Council to stop free pest control services

Rats. PA Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth.

Chris Hill Thursday, August 1, 2013 9:31 AM

Brecklands cabinet has agreed to end a free service dealing with infestations of rats and mice in a bid to save taxpayers money against the recommendations of fellow councillors.

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The decision was made on Tuesday to withdraw the districts pest control service from April 2014 a move which could save the authority 46,100 per year.

Currently the council, through a contractor, will deal with rodent problems in domestic properties for free, while it charges for the treatment of insects including wasps, fleas and bed bugs. All services are chargeable to commercial properties.

An officers report to the cabinet says money could be saved by stopping the pest control service, and sign-posting people to commercial suppliers instead.

It says this could be achieved without affecting the councils legal obligations, and that the service had not been identified as a priority in its Could We Should We consultations with the public.

But members of the councils overview and scrutiny commission raised concerns about the proposals earlier this month.

A report from the commission says: In particular there was concern that people would be troubled by rats from a neighbouring property where the neighbour was not willing to pay to have the problem treated. It would be incumbent on the council to take action and therefore unlikely that money would be saved.

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Breckland Council to stop free pest control services