Closed tips won’t cost council tax payers more

Cheshire East Council says the future of its three abandoned tip sites hasn’t yet been determined – but says closing them is not costing the council any extra.

The council ‘temporarily’ closed the household waste recycling centres at Bollington, Poynton and Middlewich in August but then voted not to re-open them.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed recently that the council is spending tens of thousands of pounds mothballing some of the buildings.

Cllr Mick Warren (Ind), chair of the environment and communities committee, insisted that isn’t the case with respect to the tip sites.

“Bollington, Middlewich and Poynton household waste recycling centre sites were closed in August and continue to be overseen by third party contractors under the terms of the council’s current contract.

“There are no additional expenses to the council,” Cllr Warren said.

“Once the environmental permits for these sites are surrendered back to the Environment Agency at a later date, the sites will be passed to the council’s assets team to determine any future uses.”

Earlier this year the LDRS revealed the council has spent a whopping £98k mothballing Bexton Court in Knutsford over the four past years.

The building has been empty since 2010, but the council only provided figures for its maintenance since 2020.