Claim Queensbury is 'forgotten about' until cuts are needed

The criticism came at a full council meeting, where members were presented with two petitions – each to save an under-threat tip in the district.

As part of proposals to save £40m – an attempt to stave off bankruptcy - Bradford Council has proposed the closure of three household waste recycling centres.

These are Golden Butts in Ilkley, Ford Hill in Queensbury and Sugden End in Cross Roads.

The proposals, which are currently out to consultation, have been heavily criticised in those areas of the district, with thousands of people signing petitions to save the Ilkley and Queensbury tips.

At a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday afternoon, petitioners pleaded with the council to keep the tips open.

The council has argued that the tips earmarked for closure were the least used of those in the district and that even after closures there would still be a tip in each constituency.

Joanne Sugden, who presented the Ilkley Tip petition, said: “Closing this tip will have a disastrous effect on the area, and the short and long-term impact will be severely felt through increased fly-tipping, increased CO2 emissions and discriminate against people who don’t drive but still want to access waste centres.”

The Council Chamber in Bradford City Hall (Image: T&A)

She said if the tip were to close, it would be a round trip of more than 19 miles to the nearest waste centre.

She told the council that this would lead to an extra 1.75 million miles being driven by Ilkley residents, who would use an extra 270,000 litres of fossil fuel.

Councillor Anne Hawksworth (Ind, Ilkley) said: “This petition has come from the heart of Ilkley, from people who are tired of having things done to them rather than having things done for them.”

She said residents had little faith the council would listen to them, adding: “I do hope that the Executive will prove the people of Ilkley wrong.”

Councillor Chris Steele (Lab, Wharfedale) said: “The planned closure was not made to spite Ilkley, and it is not because the council ‘wasted’ money on speed humps – that was money from a different budget.

"It is not because Bradford is too focused on the city centre, or the fanciful notion that separating from Bradford would save Ilkley from any cuts.

“It is because of a lack of funding for local government.”

But he added: “I do think Ilkley is a special case because of its location. I think we should delay the closure until the new recycling proposals announced by Government come in in 2026.

“Perhaps the MP for Shipley, who is married to the Minister for Common Sense, or the MP for Keighley and Ilkley, who is recycling minister, could argue for more funding?”

Judy Wetherell presented the Queensbury Tip petition.

She said: “Queensbury has been targeted for losing essential services – the swimming pool, then Victoria Hall. Now Queensbury is once again being targeted for an essential service being closed.

“The area already suffers from substantial fly tipping which not only affects road users but also farmers.”

She suggested other savings could be made, such as shutting the tip on certain days of the week.

Councillor Luke Majkowski (Ind, Queensbury) pointed out he had recently stood before the council to argue against the closure of Victoria Hall in Queensbury.

He said: “I’m starting to wonder what service for the people of Queensbury I’ll be trying to save next.

“Queensbury is an area the council often forgets about until they need to save money. It is poor decisions like closing tips that have led to financial disaster for Bradford. Why should the people of Queensbury lose out to bail Bradford Council out?”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's executive for healthy people and places, said: “This is not what any of us want – but we have to make savings. Normally this is not a decision any of us would want to contemplate.”

Councillor Hazel Johnstone (Lab, Queensbury) said she was disappointed with the planned closure, but acknowledged that Ford Hill was one of the least-used tips in the district.

She added: “No one on this Council plots or schemes to leave areas out – these are hard decisions.”

The council voted that both petitions would be considered as part of the budget-setting process.