People in Silsden are backing a last-ditch attempt to solve the problem of a dangerous culvert under a former tip in the town.

Bosses at Bradford Council have said there is no money in the kitty to repair the culvert which runs under a piece of land known as Bradley Green.

Video evidence produced nearly four years ago shows the culvert to be in a bad state of repair and in danger of collapse.

Now a Doncaster-based company has made an offer to the council to dig out the former tip for free to reclaim the ash buried there.

That could save council tax payers more than half-a-million pounds as they may be forced to foot the bill for dumping any material dug out to get to the damaged culvert.

Parish councillors say they would back any scheme which could bring an end to their on-going battle to get the culvert repaired.

But so far, Bradford Council is not committing itself to the company's offer, or the cost of repair work.

"Officers from the council's waste management section have met representatives of a firm which specialises in recycling material from very old landfill sites," a council spokesman said.

"The firm was advised to put its proposals, which involve clearing material from a range of landfill sites across the Bradford district, in writing for further consideration by the council."

Silsden parish councillor and skip firm operator Chris Atkinson has agreed to take on a tipping licence to fill Bradley Green back in again once the ash has been removed and the culvert repaired.

He owns a yard near the site and met with members of Bradford Council and the firm interested in doing the job.

It has already been revealed that to dig out the tip could cost Bradford £600,000 alone in landfill tax because it would have to pay for it to be disposed of.

Two years ago part of Bradley Green was fenced off for safety reasons and there are still fears about the danger posed by traffic using the narrow road across the land.

Most of the land is owned by Bradford Council, but a small portion is privately owned and split between three households adjacent to the site.

Coun Atkinson estimated it could take at least 6,000 wagon-loads before all the ash is removed from the land.

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