Mistakes were made when bins across the borough were taped off or not emptied, Wokingham Borough Council’s leader has admitted. But the council will look again at cutting back its street cleaning services.

Wokingham Borough Council announced on July 7 that it would empty public bins less often and leave the grass to grow longer as it sought to make £700,000 in savings.

Very shortly afterwards, some bins across the borough were covered with plastic liners – while social media posts showed others overflowing.

But the council then had to temporarily reverse the move, admitting it hadn’t followed the correct process before pushing ahead with the cuts.

Council leader Stephen Conway said he had “apologised on behalf of the council for the error,” as he spoke at a meeting of its leading Executive committee on Thursday, 20 July.

He added: “An error was made in progressing savings in the places and growth directorate without due process being followed.

“Public consultation and the involvement of the council’s overview and scrutiny process will precede a decision being made.”

Councillor Ian Shenton, responsible for waste and street cleaning said he “wasn’t sure” that the bins selected for closure had been the correct ones.

He also said the “impact” of the move led the council to “recognise” that it had gone ahead “without the appropriate approvals and the necessary supportive work in place.”

But councillor Shenton also said that “significant financial pressure” on the council meant it would look again at closing off bins after a consultation.

He said residents would get a say on the list of bins to be closed as part of that, after Councillor Shahid Younis asked if the list would be made public.

Councillor Shenton said: “I’m not sure that the bins that were selected were the correct ones. We want to make sure that the ones we select going forward will be the correct ones.”

READ MORE: Who will clear up Wokingham bins mess, councillor asks

Councillor Conway’s explanation came after Conservative opposition group leader Pauline Jorgensen demanded to know how he would avoid mistakes in the future.

She asked: “Could the leader explain what he is doing to prevent council changes to key services, for example, caddy liners and litter bin service reduction, being implemented without following due process and proper approval?”

Earlier in the meeting, councillor Conway said the council had to find a “staggering” £11.8 million in “efficiencies” this financial year due to rising inflation and low government funding.

He said: “We will continue to put the financial stability of the council, upon which many people depend for vital services, at the top of our agenda.”