Two household waste recovery centres in Northumberland have had their hours slashed as part of cost-cutting measures, leading to fears people will simply dump their rubbish wherever they can.
Northumberland County Council's budget, which was approved last month, contained a raft of cuts designed to shave £17m. Among those cuts were changes to the opening times for tips in Prudhoe and Morpeth.
Instead of opening seven days a week, the new opening times will cover Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8am until 6pm. The new measures will come into force from Monday, May 15.
Read more: Freedom of Northumberland awarded to 'outstanding individuals'
The county council has said the sites receive fewer visitors during the week and that the same opening hours are operated successfully at five other tips around the county. However, Labour's Coun Angie Scott, who represents Prudhoe North, has raised concerns that the move could see an increase in fly-tipping and queueing at sites.
She said: "Residents are absolutely disgusted, they feel really disappointed and let down. There has been no public consultation on this.
"It is part of the budget and the council are saying that was consulted on, but the budget consultation didn't say anything about the tips. Prudhoe tip serves Ovingham, Wylam, Stocksfield and Mickley too - it's a huge area.
"Staff have told me they can see up to 300 vehicles a day in the summer. There will be huge queues and it's going to increase fly-tipping.
"It's a great tip - they recycle your rubbish and everything is very organised and run responsibly. People are asking me why they pay their council tax - it's gone up and they expect more services."
Responding to Coun Scott's comments, the county council defended the decision and disputed the fact there would be an increase in fly-tipping.
A spokeswoman said: “Following a full council budget meeting in February, the council has taken the decision to change the opening times for Household Waste Recovery Centre’s (HWRC’s) sites, including Morpeth and Prudhoe, that receive fewer visitors during weekdays.
"These opening times have been successfully operated at five other HWRCs in the county since 2016 without an increase of disruption, queueing or fly-tipping. There was no reduction in recycling at these locations and resident satisfaction with the HWRC's service remains high.
“The sites will still provide a comprehensive range of reuse, recycling, composting and disposal services.
“The council is continually reviewing its services to ensure it is providing best value with minimal impact, whilst still providing residents with sufficient opportunity to deliver waste to a conveniently located HWRC. We will continue to monitor the sites closely."
Read next:
- Robson Green wins Outstanding Contribution at North East England Tourism Awards
- Blyth man in court accused of sending explicit videos of himself to 'underage girl'
- Northumberland Line boss 'targeting August 2024' for first passenger journeys
- Warnings dangerous conditions on A192 at Plessey Woods in Northumberland could lead to 'serious injury or death'
- Northumberland man in court accused of leaving man with fractured skull and brain bleed
