Waste and recycling site to shut for good

Somerby Tip is set to close its doors for the final time

A Leicestershire tip site will shut for good from Monday.

The Somerby recycling and household waste site is shutting as part of cost-cutting plans Leicestershire County Council said will save £300,000 a year.

As well as the tip in east Leicestershire’s closure, Shepshed will reduce to two days a week, Market Harborough will move to opening three days a week, and Kibworth tip will be open four days a week.

Tip sites at Coalville, at Lount near Ashby, and at Melton Mowbray will be open for the same number of days per week as they do now, but their opening days will change.

The Somerby site is expected to be put up for sale later this year, a spokesperson for the authority previously said.

"Dire" financial position

Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment, said the county council needs to find savings to address a shortfall in funding and an increase in demand for services.

He said: “We held two public consultations and listened to what people in the county who use these sites had to say.

"The feedback we received from the public was vital in revising and shaping our final proposals and I’m grateful for everyone’s input.

“Regretfully, we do recognise that the loss of Somerby will have an impact on people who use the site, but Melton Mowbray is an alternative site a relatively short drive away and will be open five days a week.”

A cabinet meeting of the county council heard last week the authority is in a “dire” financial position with a £33m budget gap to bridge in the next financial year to stave off bankruptcy.

Council papers show this could widen to a £100m deficit by 2028/29, almost one fifth of the authority’s current budget.

Officers said the council will need to “either reduce expectations of what can be delivered” or find new funding.