Council consulting now on proposed tip closures – including Middlewich

The cash-strapped council, which needs to plug a £100m four-year funding gap, says it wants to deliver a service that enables residents to recycle and dispose of their waste responsibly but is also within the limits of what is affordable over the coming years.

The options residents are being asked for their views on are:

• All [seven] HWRCs remain open as they are now;
• Poynton HWRC is closed;
• Bollington HWRC is closed;
• Bollington, Middlewich and Poynton HWRCs are closed.

The council is also asking people for their feedback on introducing mobile HWRCs, which usually consist of staffed collection vehicles that visit public spaces once a month on a rotating schedule.

And it wants feedback on introducing a booking system, which, it says, would manage waiting times and the flow of traffic into the sites.

Cllr Mick Warren (Image: Cheshire East Council)

Cllr Mick Warren (Ind), chair of the environment and communities committee, said: “Setting the council’s medium-term financial strategy (MTFS) for 2024-2028 and agreeing our budget for 2024/25 was extremely challenging, and to protect essential services we must continue to make very difficult decisions about how key services in the borough are delivered.

“This includes HWRCs – any savings not delivered through this service review must be found elsewhere.

“A key aspect of the final recommendation that is developed for HWRCs will be a focus on delivering a service that promotes waste prevention and reduction so that, ultimately, less waste ends up at our HWRCs and the impact on the environment is reduced.

“We also have the opportunity to look at how we can make the service more accessible for people who don’t drive and for those that live in more rural areas where they are further away from a HWRC.”

The council insists no final decision has yet been made on the future of HWRC provision and it is now consulting on proposals so a final recommendation can be developed.

Poynton household waste recycling centre (Image: Google)

But residents are sceptical – especially since Cheshire East has already announced the emergency closure of Bollington, Poynton and Middlewich HWRCs to save cash before this public consultation started.

That emergency ‘temporary’ closure was due to have come into effect in April but is currently targeted to take place in the next two months

Campaign group Action4CheshireEast said: “We are having yet more consultations at our expense. Nothing comes of them, the council treat them as a ‘tick box exercise’.

“It has been proved time after time it makes no difference what we say. ..

“Recycling centres, yet another consultation.

"Closures undeniably looming for Middlewich, Poynton and Bollington, whilst Congleton and Sandbach [Arclid] closed a couple of years ago, which leads intrinsically to another consultation.

“If the current leadership expects residents to believe they are serious about carbon emissions they should also rethink reducing the number of household recycling centres scheduled for closure.

"Inevitably that puts more vehicles on the road, more frequently, for longer distances combined with the ‘green’ bin tax.”

The consultation will close on June 16, 2024 and can be accessed here.

Paper versions of the online survey are available at local libraries.

You can also provide your feedback by emailing the research and consultation team at ceconsultation@cheshireeast.gov.uk or by phoning customer services on 0300 123 5500 who will send your enquiry to the relevant department.