Market Harborough tip could close in bid to cut down on council spending

Market Harborough tip could close in a bid to cut down on council spending.

Leicestershire County Council has proposed to shut the site, along with Shepshed and Somerby waste and recycling centres, in a bid to save some £420,000.

Data from 2019 shows Harborough was one of the most well-used tips with some 113,000 annual users at its site, but the figure is nearly half that of Whetstone, the busiest tip in Leicestershire which had some 208,000.

But the authority says following the pandemic it has seen a difference in how the service is used, and the district’s needs will be better met at nearby Kibworth tip, which has better facilities after recently undergoing a £5million upgrade.

The council needs to save some £90million by 2026, and says it is on course for a £9million overspend this year due to rising social care costs.

Environment spokesman Cllr Blake Pain said: “We’re doing the best we can with the money we have and we’re super-efficient, but there’s growing pressure and we need to make savings where we can.

“Our recycling and household waste sites are located and open to best serve residents. Proposing to close these sites isn’t easy, but I want to be clear that no decisions have yet been made. We really want people to tell us what they think of these plans.

“We’re focusing on sites that are relatively expensive to run and have practical, viable alternative locations for those who use them.”

Other plans to help save money would see all sites closed on Christmas Eve, and summer opening hours changed.

If the plans are given the green light it would see the equivalent to nine and a half full time jobs affected, though the authority says it will redeploy staff ‘where possible’.

The three sites would be closed, but the council has not ruled out selling them in future.

The proposals will go before Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday (October 24) and if approved will go out for consultation in November, with residents given 12 weeks to have their say on the plans.

Cllr Pain added: “In an ideal world we do not want to shut any sites, although we do have the most amount of sites of any council in the East Midlands. Ideally we would not want to shut them, but to contribute to medium-term savings and following changes of service users these are pragmatic proposals built on closures, operating times and shutting them on certain dates because of low usership.

“Initially we were looking at five site closures but we have narrowed that down to three.”

The authority runs 14 waste sites and says the reduction would bring it in line with other local counties.

Cllr Pain said Kibworth would be a short drive for most Harborough residents and also better serve the needs of rural areas.

He added: “Alternative sites are available within easy reach of the suggested sites for closure to ensure impact on residents is minimal.”