THE Vale council is set to increase collection charges for bulky items from households, raising the figure from £20 for three items, up from the current £15.

Councillors on the corporate performance and resources committee were told this still failed to cover even half of the cost of the collection of items.

Officers told councillors that the overall cost to the council was between £40 and £45 for items to be collected.

Vale Buttrills councillor, Ian Johnson said he had recently reported a number of sofas and settees that had been dumped around Barry town centre, and he questioned whether there was an increasing number of people fly-tipping to avoid charges.

Vale council officers said that they would soon be publishing a report on fly-tipping across the county.

Cllr Johnson said: “It’s always very disappointing to see items dumped on street corners or in back lanes when there is a Vale council service available, or they can be taken over to the tip.

“In recent weeks, I’ve seen a number of settees and sofas apparently abandoned on the street in the centre of town and have reported this to the council to get them cleared.

“I hope that increasing the charges won’t make this worse.

“The upcoming report on fly-tipping will hopefully show us how much of a problem this has become, how quickly the council can respond to fly-tipping reports and how many successful prosecutions are made.”