Councillors join smaller bins proposal criticism

Plans to make residents' household waste bins smaller in part of West Yorkshire could be scrapped after councillors joined the backlash against the proposal.

Kirklees Council recently revealed plans to shrink domestic grey bins in the district by 25% in order to save money and boost recycling rates.

But on Monday, councillors from the local authority's minority Labour-run administration called for the potential move to be halted.

The BBC contacted the local authority in an effort to clarify whether or not the proposal had been scrapped, with Kirklees Council yet to respond.

A petition against the plan gained close to 4,000 signatures by Monday.

In a statement shared on social media, Kirklees Labour group said it wanted the scheme to be "removed from the final version" of the council's budget proposals, which are due to be signed off in the new year.

The statement said it was "concerned" the plans "would not achieve the savings suggested, or the recycling rate improvements we would all like to see, without other significant service changes".

Labour runs the local authority as a minority administration after losing overall control of the council in the local elections earlier this year.

Several residents in the village of Birkenshaw recently told the BBC they were against the idea, citing concerns around the impact on families and fly-tipping.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.