THERE is something whiffy surrounding Redbridge tip and we don’t mean the rubbish.

Today we report on Oxford City Council’s proposed rent increase for the site, hitting up Oxfordshire County Council £100,000-a-year when it has been paying a peppercorn rate of £5,000.

Councils have a legal duty to make sure they get the best financial return on their assets and this hike – an eye-watering 1,900 per cent charge – is part of a review of its property portfolio.

The city says it wants to see Redbridge become a larger “waste and recycling centre” that it could run hand-in-hand with the county. And John Tanner drops the none-too-subtle hint that if this was the case it would almost certainly not charge the county the six-figure sum.

Now, while there may be merit in the city’s plan for an expanded dump, this hardly seems the way to build a co-operative business partnership.

And, while Redbridge is obviously worth more than £5,000-a-year in rent, this is a completely different scenario to the Covered Market because there it is dealing with private, commercial concerns.

Redbridge is a facility for the public and, by trying to plunder £100,000 out of Oxfordshire County Council, it is actually sticking its hand directly into the pocket of you, the taxpayer.

We’d advise Mr Tanner to dump this tactic of negotiation and try something that smells a little sweeter.