Dozens of people have signed a petition in protest at council plans to slap tenants with a new £52-a-year charge. Stoke-on-trent City Council wants to impose the amenity charge on its 17,500 tenants.

The fee would be in addition to rent and council tax charges; would go towards the cost of grass cutting, litter picking and general maintenance; be subject to an annual review; and come into force from April. Now former councillor Desiree Elliott has launched the online petition which has attracted 143 signatures.

The petition states: "This is an unfair charge on council tenants who are expected to pay for amenities which benefit non-council tenants too. Therefore, we call on the city council to withdraw the proposal to introduce a council tenant amenity charge and to look at other ways of recouping money for the upkeep of council estates."

It comes as the council is looking to bring maintenance firm Unitas back in-house. The company, which is wholly owned by the city council, has been responsible for all 17,500 council properties since 2018.

Ms Elliott said: "I'm aware that the council is bringing Unitas back in-house which is a great thing. It's an unfair tax when some streets and some areas have a significant number of right to buy people living there or private tenants in private houses. Our council estates are not council estates anymore – they are mixed estates."

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