LETTER: Confused about plans to close Colne Household Waste Centre

The council website states: “The decision to close four of the county’s 19 HWRCs was taken in February as part of the county council’s pledge to reduce costs. As a result of this decision, a review of the current provision of household waste recycling centres in Lancashire has been carried out and the resulting review document has been launched for comments.” The council also claims that “because the site is wholly owned by its contractor SITA, it cannot guarantee its availability after March, 2013, when the contact ends.

This sounds as if the decision is a fait accompli and the review consultation is just a paper exercise. Its statement seems to imply SITA might not want to renew the contract in April, 2013.

Yet the SITA UK website states: “SITA UK recently retained the Lancashire contract to operate 23 HWRCs on behalf of the council, all of which achieve annual average recycling rates of between 60 and 75% (excluding inert waste).”

I have written to SITA seeking clarification on the number of HWRCs it actually owns and manages, the length of its contract with the council and whether it intends to renew its current contract. I hope Conservative county councillors in Pendle will also engage in this debate over the future of the Colne HWRC, as Conservatives control the county council. Through your newspaper, they should publicly give us the true picture and dispel any possible conflicting and confusing claims. As our elected representatives, they are accountable to us.

DAVID PENNEY

Noyna Street, Colne