Kirklees Council set to plough ahead with tip closure plan despite mass backlash

Despite masses of backlash from residents and elected members, Kirklees Council intends to go ahead with the closure of Birstall tip, and a final decision will be made next week.

In August, the council announced it would be closing Birstall’s Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Nab Lane and reducing the opening hours at the sites in Meltham and Upper Cumberworth.

This proved highly unpopular with the public and took elected members by surprise, with Executive Director for Place, David Shepherd, later admitting the council “could and should have done better” in engaging with councillors on the issue.

Read more: 7 buildings being sold off by Kirklees Council to save cash

The unpopular decision was “called-in” by Kirklees’ Tories, amid criticisms of a lack of engagement and openness and only limited options being available. Here, it also emerged that some Cabinet members who had voted on the council’s Waste Disposal Strategy earlier in the year may not have realised it gave council officers the permission to close a site.

The panel concluded that the decision should be returned to Cabinet, with this to take place next Tuesday (October 8). Despite previous concerns, members will be voting on recommendations to implement the original plans, with the closures and reductions to come in from late Autumn/Winter, if the green light is given.

Councillor Munir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, said: “If the proposals are approved, peak opening times would be maintained across the remaining HWRC sites while meeting financial targets for the service.

“We have to make difficult decisions in the current financial climate but this proposal still leaves Birstall and Birkenshaw residents with the industry-recommended journey time to their nearest HWRC. The closure of Nab Lane would also put Kirklees at a level of service comparable to that of Leeds, Bradford, and Wakefield when comparing density of provision.

“With the tip at Nab Lane needing major modernisation and investment over the coming years, this is one of many cost-saving measures being implemented across the council, as set out in the annual budget earlier this year.”

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