Tip saved from closure as council reduces hours

A waste recycling centre has been saved from closure after councillors instead decided to reduce its opening days.

Calderdale Council had said that shutting Elland Household Waste Recycling Centre on Huddersfield Road could save the Labour-run authority around £150,000 per year.

A council report put forward an alternative proposal to close all five of the district's tips for two days a week, which could make even greater savings of £300,000 by 2026.

Councillor Silvia Dacre, who oversees resources at the local authority, said the new opening hours would be introduced in the autumn of 2025.

Calderdale Council said the tip closures would be "staggered", with all sites being open on the weekend, which are typically the busier days.

The closures would be between Tuesday and Thursday, while ensuring there was still provision for residents to use an alternative site.

Dacre said the plan meant councillors "no longer have to include reference of closure of a second site in the budget for 2025/26".

Residents in Elland welcomed the idea of all sites moving to five-day opening.

Jo Stocking, 67, said: "I've seen in the report the council would be able to save more money that way, rather than closing an individual tip, and it gives people more chance to tip rubbish instead of having it outside their house waiting for the refuse collection, which is alternate weeks."

Sue Tiller agreed that keeping all of the household waste sites open for only five days a week would be a better option and "manageable" for users.

The council also introduced a resident permit scheme in July 2024 to ensure tips could only be used by people who lived in Calderdale.

A report said it had resulted in lower usage of Elland tip due to people in neighbouring Kirklees not being able to use the facility.

Council leader Jane Scullion said she had heard anecdotal evidence that the permit scheme had led to people "turning round" when they got to the site.

She said that was good as it meant that the "Calderdale sites were for Calderdale residents who are paying for them".

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