PEOPLE in Wychavon could soon find their streets swept and their rubbish collected by Worcester City Council.

Guildhall bosses are working on a multi-million pound bid to take over the running of the service from March next year.

If the bid is successful it would mean Wychavon District Council paying the city council to run and manage it.

The Guildhall already makes street sweeping, rubbish collection and recycling a big priority. It will spend £7.5 million on it this year in Worcester.

But the main reason behind the proposal is because councils across the country are under Government pressure to share services. It is hoping to put a detailed bid together with Redditch Borough Council and Malvern Hills District Council to run the service.

Mike Harrison, head of clean and green at the city council, said: "All councils have to save money, and there are things we can do together. At the moment Wychavon district council has asked for a tender, and is looking for the best price to do the job, so we've given them an expression of interest.

"We will hear by the end of this week whether or not we are on the list Wychavon district council has of groups or companies that have submitted an interest in taking it over. Hopefully we'll be on it. If we are, we'll have about two months to put a detailed bid together for the service."

He said it was too early to say if collection dates in Wychavon would be affected.

The city council currently operates a fortnightly wheelie bin recycling scheme in Worcester, which will cover all 30,000 homes by October.

Wychavon district council recycles plastics one week and newspapers the next, and collects household waste every week.

Phil Merrick, head of community services at Wychavon, said: "The council has recently advertised the contract and has received formal interest from a substantial number of organisations. We are currently appraising these expressions of interest and will be soon inviting suitable organisations to tender for the contract."

The Guildhall thinks it will do itself a big favour in the long run by agreeing to share one of the biggest services councils offer.

As the Worcester News reported previously, the city council is considering sharing IT with Malvern Hills and Wychavon district councils, saving it £300,000 a year.

It will merge the revenue and benefits system with both councils in June, saving the Guildhall about £190,000 a year.