Recycling centres to close?

Thursday’s meeting in the Venue at Navenby was arranged for those making the decisions to hear residents’ views.

District and county councillor Marianne Overton said: “The recycling sites are busy. This decision forces more people to drive further with their rubbish, struggling into the traffic and adding to pollution and creating more congestion on Lincoln’s already overloaded roads and at the sites in Lincoln and Sleaford.”

She accepted that the county council was faced with having to make £170m of savings over the next four years due to cuts in Government funding, but said Leadenham in particular, is a cost-effective local service.

Coun Overton said: “If the site owners FCC were given any certainty, even a five-year contract, they could concrete under the seven skips at Leadenham to match the requirements of the Environment Agency.”

There were fears about increased cost falling on residents and the district council from a potential increase in fly-tipping and more demand on the bulky waste collection.

There was support for a simple charging system, to keep services local. A number of parishes were represented at the meeting and a consortium was suggested and a working group has been formed.

Leader of the County Council Martin Hill was quizzed on the Leadenham site at a budget consultation event in Sleaford on Wednesday, when he explained the Environment Agency expected £200,000 of work to be done to prevent pollution and he could not see it as a viable option, describing it as a “no brainer”.

Portfolio holder for finance Coun Marc Jones suggested as mainly local residents used the site, they would not be tempted to fly-tip nearby.