The controversial household waste disposal permit scheme introduced across Bradford and district in July this year has been beset with problems, not least the lack of consultation before it was brought in.

As soon as Council Tax-payers received letters with their bills, informing them that they needed to apply for a permit to take their domestic waste to local authority recycling centres, there were calls for the idea to be scrapped, not least from this newspaper.

When the scheme first came to light, back in March, in this very column we warned: “Those who don't complete the form, and those who mislay or forget their permits, might think it's too much trouble using the household waste facilities at all, and may simply decide to dump their rubbish somewhere else, adding to the already significant fly-tipping issue the district has.”

Sadly it seems, in just three months since the permits were brought in, we have been proved right, with weekly fly-tipping complaints increasing by almost a quarter on the first six months of the year.

Added to what appears to be a steady annual growth in littering and dumping, it seems that the permit scheme has, in fact, exacerbated the problem and, rather than saving money, it is now likely to cost more money to clear up the extra mess that’s being generated.

We are reluctant, of course, to tell the Council “we told you so” – but the thousands of local residents who made the same point may not be so restrained....