The potential closure of one of Norfolk's recycling centres - to save £70,000 - has been put to members of the public to give their views.
The closure of Mayton Wood Recycling Centre, near Coltishall, has been proposed by Norfolk County Council as part of its need to make £60m of cuts and savings.
Conservative-run County Hall put the closure forward late in the planning for its February budget, having scrapped controversial plans to save £200,000 by shutting all recycling centres on Wednesdays.
And six weeks of consultation over the closure of Mayton Wood has now begun, with council officers inviting members of the public to have their say at norfolk.citizenspace.com/environment-transport-and-development/mayton-wood
Today we’re launching a six-week consultation on the proposed closure of Mayton Wood Recycling Centre. ♻️
— Norfolk County Council (@NorfolkCC) May 15, 2023
The consultation is a chance for you to give us your views on the proposal. We want to hear from you, have your say today https://t.co/CHyi6n8SsT pic.twitter.com/qnYAI0yF9p
Council officers said that, since the new Norwich North Recycling Centre, off the Norwich Northern Distributor Road, opened in 2021, there had been a "significant drop" of just over a third in the numbers using Mayton Wood.
The council said it could not upgrade Mayton Wood, because it is on a minor road and on a closed landfill site.
That, the council says, means there is no opportunity to redesign the site to provide easy access bins with no steps, or a one-way system to cut queues.
The council said if Mayton Wood is shut, then people could use the Norwich North Recycling Centre, which is six miles away and a 15-minute car journey, or Worstead Recycling Centre which is eight miles away - 20 minutes by car.
At a recent council meeting, the Tory group was accused, by Labour county councillor Terry Jermy, of breaking its May 2021 election pledge to keep recycling centres open.
Eric Vardy, cabinet member for environment and waste, said the county council was committed to increasing recycling and had spent about £15m in recent years on new and improved recycling centres across Norfolk, such as Norwich North.
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