'Open tip or face tax cut'

A PORTISHEAD councillor says he will call for a reduction in his council tax bill unless urgent action is taken to open the town's tip.The warning by Councillor David Pasley comes at the same time as the town council has demanded progress be made to open the Valley Road civic amenity site.Councillors agreed at a meeting of Portishead and North Weston Town Council on Wednesday night to write to North Somerset Council chief executive Graham Turner demanding swift progress is made to reopen the tip.They are also asking to receive regular reports on how work is progressing and a timetable of when the amenity site will open.But Cllr Pasley warned, if work to open to tip is not forthcoming, he is going to write to the authority asking for a reduction in his council tax bill.Cllr Pasley said: "Unless real action is forthcoming within a month, I will be writing to North Somerset asking for a reduction in my council tax. I will also be urging others to do the same. I would not want anyone not to pay their council tax, but the tip is a very important local amenity for the people of Portishead and the surrounding area."Why should we be paying for a service we are not receiving?"Fly tipping is also starting to occur across North Somerset, which costs the authority, and ultimately the rate payer, to clean up."The North Somerset Times revealed last month that the tip, which closed in April following concerns about the safety of the rockface, was unlikely to open until December.Repairs could not be carried out immediately because of peregrine falcons nesting on the cliffs.The work to shore up the cliff face has only just gone out to tender and a contractor is being sought.Councillor Arthur Terry said he had handed a list of alternative sites for a temporary tip to be set up to North Somerset Council executive member for community and environment Deborah Yamanaka, but had yet to have a response.