SILSDENERS 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 Bradley Green.

Video evidence produced nearly four years ago shows the culvert is 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 £500,000 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 ends their battle to get the culvert repaired.

But so far, Bradford Council is not committing itself.

'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 told the Herald.

'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.'

Silsden parish councillor and skip firm operator Chris Atkinson has agreed to take on a tipping licence to infill Bradley Green 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 on Monday.

'We were simply told to put forward our proposals in writing,' he said. 'This is the second time such an offer has been made and I would be willing to take on the licence to fill the tip back up again with inert material such as soil and rubble.'

The Herald has already revealed that to dig out the tip could cost Bradford £600,000 alone in landfill tax.

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 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.

At Silsden Parish Council's monthly meeting last week, Coun Atkinson broke the latest news to his colleagues.

He estimated that it could take at least 6,000 wagonloads before all the ash was removed from the land.

'I'll support it if it can be done in an environmentally safe way and we can have the green back for the people of Silsden,' commented chairman Coun Paul Bromley.

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