A REVIEW has been ordered for Lancashire’s household waste recycling centres – amid ongoing pressure to reverse unpopular closures.
Senior county councillors have begun examining the future of local tips, as the authority looks to save around £300million over the next four years.
But County Hall chiefs have insisted there are no immediate plans to axe fresh locations – despite setting up a working group which has so far only met behind closed doors.
Just four years ago four sites were axed in East Lancashire alone – at Langho, Padiham, Great Harwood and Colne.
The move saved the county council £540,000 a year and £1.3million was anticipated from the sell-off of redundant land.
Four larger replacements were scheduled – one per borough, in Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle.
County councillor Dorothy Lord, who represents Pendle Central for the Lib Dems, has lobbied for Colne’s Corporation Street depot to re- open.
Labour’s Coun Gareth Molineux, for Great Harwood, has made similar representations for his local site.
Steve Scott, the county council’s head of waste management, said: “We are currently in the process of reviewing our provision of household waste recycling centres and a cabinet working group is considering a range of options.
“One of the things the group is looking at is where there may be gaps in our current provision and how these could be met within a reduced budget given the council's need to save around £300m over the next four years.”
The working group has so far decided to review current provisions, consider the costs of the operation and ‘explore alternative service delivery methods’.
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