It has been noted that many small shops are being told by the Council that S34(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is now being enthusiastically enforced by Sefton Council. This means that shop rubbish, no matter how little and perhaps merely 2 bags of cardboard each week, will not be automatically collected. The shopkeeper must sign up with a private contractor, and pay heavily for this “trade waste”. Failure to do so will result in their being taken to court and fined up to £5,000 in Magistrates Court or an unlimited fine in Crown Court. Our small shopkeepers are having a tough enough time with the massive competition imposed by our many supermarkets. This extra burden on top of the extortionate Rates they must pay could prove to be the last straw for many more of them.

Observers of our declining town centre will testify to the fact that, once closed, these shops can remain so for years or never reopen at all. The oppressive and dictatorial attitude of Sefton Council seems hell-bent on overly restricting our town's traders.

It is about time that Sefton Council put as much effort into the proper maintenance of our town's attractions and facilities as they do into enforcing such unfair and unreasonable laws.