Conservatives on Huntingdonshire District Council oppose what they have described as an “unnecessary and regressive Green Bin tax" ahead of a meeting this week to discuss the plans.

The proposals will come before the council's Joint Overview and Scrutiny panel on July 6 and go before Cabinet on July 18. If agree, the free green bin collection will end next March and a £57.50 annual charge will be introduced in April for anyone who wants to retain a green bin and have it collected by HDC.

The Conservative group, led by Cllr Jonathan Gray, has announced its strong opposition to the plan, calling it "madness". Councillors are also unhappy about the "lack of public consultation".

In a statement, they set out statistics that show the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates that 93 per cent of residents in Huntingdonshire have private garden space and they say many low-income households would be impacted by the charge.

Councillor Gray said: "This unnecessary, ill-conceived and regressive tax exposes the new coalition's short-sightedness in pressing ahead without consultation and just before a new national strategy for food

“As a group, we will strongly oppose the introduction of this regressive stealth tax, as we have time and time again while in office.

"It will hit our most vulnerable residents hardest at a time of huge economic upheaval. The absence of a mandate and compelling evidence supporting the necessity of these charges raises serious concerns about the legitimacy and democratic accountability of this decision.

"It would be madness to push this poor policy through with no public consultation and without further analysis of the economics of the proposal.

“We will fight tirelessly to ensure that the interests of our residents are upheld. This is the most dramatic reduction in council services ever proposed in Huntingdonshire – at a time when the council’s finances are stronger than they have been for more than 20 years. The only thing that belongs in the bin is this preposterous proposal."

When the proposal was announced last week, HDC said the move was necessary due to "financial challenges" and it wanted to create a fairer system.

In a report being put before Thursday's meeting, HDC has stated it needs to "find ways to save money or generate income to combat rising costs, inflation and cuts in government grants".

HDC says around 65 per cent of authorities across England and half of the waste collection authorities in the Eastern region have already opted to charge for household garden waste collections.