RESIDENTS near a proposed recycling centre in Heasandford, Burnley, believe the planned closure of a tip in Padiham will increase traffic near their homes.

The residents are unhappy that the application for a new £2.3million recycling site, at Heasandford Industrial Estate, made no mention of plans to shut the site in Park Road, Padiham.

Plans for the new site were approved in April, despite concerns from residents about how the area will handle the traffic from the current Burnley recycling centre, in Grosvenor Street, which the new facility is replacing.

Coun Roger Frost, who represents the Briercliffe area and is a member of the parish council, said: “When the county council put the application in, there was no mention of the closure of the Padiham site.

"If the people of Padiham come to the Heasan-dford site as well, then there is going to be a much bigger amount of traffic than expected.

“The parish council asked the county council about the increased traffic and if they had assessed the impact the extra traffic from Padiham would have on this area.

“It was taken to an executive meeting at County Hall, but they decided to go ahead with the Heasandford plans anyway.”

The decision to close the Park Road centre, in Padiham, was taken following a task group report into Lancashire’s 23 recycling centres, and how to save money on them.

It currently deals with 3,800 tonnes of waste per year, but the council is planning to close it in March next year, saving the county council £210,000 a year.

Town councillors in Padiham have campaigned against the closure, but the county council has stuck by its decision.