Bradford: Fly-tipping fears after waste centre closure plan

Golden Butts household recycling centre in Ilkley is one of the three sites at risk of closure

Bradford Council has been urged to rethink proposals to shut three recycling centres amid fears the move would lead to increased fly-tipping.

The plan comes as part of a cost-saving move to help the authority avoid having to effectively declare itself bankrupt.

A document on the council's finances predicts a £73m overspend for the current financial year.

Council leaders said residents in the district would still have one nearby recycling centre.

The local authority has proposed to close Ford Hill in Queensbury, Golden Butts in Ilkley and Sugden End in Cross Roads, with an estimated saving of about £1m a year.

However, several people who use the three centres fear closing them could turn rural areas of the district into fly-tipping hotspots.

Raymond, who did not wish to give his surname, said: "It's bound to be a loss, because the nearest one from here is Keighley, or probably the one in Halifax.

"It will save money, but they'll offset that money against all the fly-tipping that they're going to have to pick up."

Luther Brown describes a potential drive to Keighley with his waste recycling as "a bit of a trek"

Luther Brown raised similar concerns about the distance to his nearest centre.

"Obviously this tip is here for the environment, for recycling, and you're making people drive further," he said.

"That's no good for the environment, is it?"

To make additional savings, the council has closed six of its eight recycling centres on Mondays.

Bradford Council's decision-making executive will hold an urgent meeting on Thursday to discuss the emergency budget before launching a public consultation.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, council leader, said the closures would still leave one household recycling site in every constituency of the Bradford district.

"We [would still] have more household recycling sites than other councils of our size," she told BBC Radio Leeds.

"Obviously I don't want to close them, but if the government want us to put in cuts then that is an obvious one to make."

Ms Hinchcliffe urged residents to take part in the public consultation to share ideas about cost-saving measures.