Minutes:
The Chairman then invited any questions from the floor.
These included:
Wiltshire Council charges £40 per annum to collect its residents garden/green waste. Could the money raised through this offset the costs of keeping the Everleigh HRC open?
a.Money raised through the collection of garden/green waste is not pure profit. Twice as many residents signed up for the new scheme which means that more refuse collections are required to collect the waste etc, which have increased costs of running extra vehicles and collection crews etc.
By closing the Everleigh HRC Wiltshire Council only expects to save £135k per year.
a.Any saving that Wiltshire Council can make are important to trying to balance its books against the continued cuts imposed by Central Government. The harsh reality is that austerity is beginning to bite, Wiltshire Council has to make savings across the board.
Why does Wiltshire Council need to close an important facility that will impact on local communities?
a.Wiltshire Council has tried not to impact its communities when having to make savings, many other local authorities have cut services that Wiltshire Council have been able to leave untouched during this time of austerity. It should also be remembered that Wiltshire Council has not increased its council tax for five years.
Could Wiltshire Council keep Everleigh open but perhaps reduce its openings times to two days per week?
a.Cllr Sturgis advised that he would discuss with Hills how much it would cost to run Everleigh HRC as a two day opening centre. (Note that attendees felt that Friday & Saturday would be the two best days for the HRC to be open).
Could Wiltshire Council not charge residents to use its recycling centres?
a.Unfortunately Central Government legislation prevents local authorities from charging to use its HRCs.
Could Wiltshire Council not re-negotiate a better contract with Hills?
a.Wiltshire Council would be discussing its contract with Hills during January 2016.
Wiltshire Council should be looking at all its HRCs, not just Everleigh.
a.No decision has been made by Wiltshire Council as yet as to the possible closure of the Everleigh HRC.
If the Everleigh HRC is not used enough, then maybe Wiltshire Council should improve its marketing of this HRC, perhaps using social media.
a.Wiltshire Council advertises/markets its HRCs on its website, the communities of Pewsey and Tidworth are not using the Everleigh facility enough.
What will happen to the site if the HRC is closed?
a.The land could be used for other uses, probably not suitable for housing.
Surely with the ongoing housing developments being being built in and around Tidworth, and Army Rebasing the area needs a local HRC?
a.ThePewsey/Tidworth community area would still be adequately covered by the Amesbury, Devizes and Marlborough HRCs.
Points made from the floor included:
All residents should have reasonable access to HRCs, Wiltshire cannot expect local residents to drive to Marlborough, Devizes or Amesbury to do their recycling.
Both Marlborough and Devizes HRCs are not reasonable alternatives to Everleigh, both can be difficult to get in and out of due to their locations.
That flytipping would increase if the Everleigh HRC was to close.
Wiltshire Council should be able to operate its HRCs at a profit.
The Chairman thanked the attendees for their questions, which would be feedback to the Wiltshire Council cabinet.