Plans to close tips in £16m cuts thrown out

Plans to close half of the tips in Hampshire as part of a bid to save £16m have been thrown out.

The county council has reviewed its proposals to cut costs from 13 different services.

The local authority has been considering cuts to waste recycling centres, road maintenance, homelessness support, street lighting and libraries.

It had debated the closure of 12 smaller tips, including in Marchwood, Hayling Island and Bishops Waltham.

During a cabinet meeting, councillors voted in favour of not closing any Household Water and Recycling Centres (HWRC).

The proposals were part of a wider £90.4m scheme of cuts to help deal with the authority's annual budget shortfall of £175m.

BBC South's political reporter, Emily Hudson, said the idea of closing tips had been "pretty controversial".

She explained there were protests about the plans on Saturday amid concerns of an increase in fly-tipping and the distances people would have to travel.

Councillors have instead agreed to review tip closures once doorstep recycling had improved and more plastics could be dealt with within Hampshire.

Other cuts considered getting rid of 17 school crossing patrols - but they have been saved for now as well.

The meeting heard councillors plan to replace lollipop crews longer-term with road improvements and dedicated crossings.

The authority did agree to cut £2m from the homeless support grant in March 2026.

Kenna Young, regional director for homelessness charity Two Saints, said it would result in more visible homelessness across the county.

"...within our services they have dignity, there is respect shown to them and without these services we will have people who are dying on our streets," she added.

Cuts to passenger transport were also discussed, which council leader Nick Adams-King said was its most "complex" issue.

The authority approved £587,000 of reductions to services including taxi-share services and supported bus services.

It amended the proposals to include a "revised approach" for community and school transport.

Regarding concerns over the future of particular bus services, Mr Adams said his message was "to use it".

He added: "If you use the bus and if you take advantage of the fact that we're still in a place where you can take any journey for £2, then they become sustainable and we keep the services and we get all the benefits that we all want from them.

"At the end of the day it is incredibly difficult for the county council to be able to keep supporting services when they are not used and they are not commercial..."

The council is yet to confirm the final figure for how much will now be saved based on the cabinet's decisions.

But the authority's director of corporate operations, Rob Carr, warned it would not be enough to balance the books by April 2025.

Council leader Mr Adams-King told the meeting: "We don't want to have to cut services, our job is to provide for the residents of Hampshire.

"The national situation is such that we find ourselves with cost pressures, as a consequence of services that we are unable to control the cost of, other than the number of people who present themselves to us."

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