There is rightly concern about moves to cut the opening hours of the district’s tips as a money-saving measure, meaning all of them would only open five days a week instead of seven.

Critics already believe the household waste permit scheme brought in last year will encourage fly-tipping, and say shutting all tips in the district on two days during the week will only exacerbate this problem.

There is some logic behind this argument, as there will be those who will decide once they find a tip is closed that it is easier to simply dump the rubbish they were getting rid of rather than taking it home, and either unloading it or leaving it in the car until they come out again.

But in times of financial difficulties, the Council does need to find ways to reduce costs, and if usage is as low as the authority says during weekdays, then it could be argued in times of stringent spending cuts that there is a case for reducing the hours.

It is certainly better for the majority of people to ensure the service is still available at weekends, which the proposal would do.

But it would also be useful to see whether the permit scheme has generated the savings that were promised before rushing headlong into more changes, so we would call on the Council to publish those figures as soon as possible.

If the opening hour changes really do have to happen, then they must be widely promoted throughout the district so everyone knows what days their local tip will be open.

And we must hope that if this further obstacle placed in front of those who want to dispose of household rubbish legitimately at Council sites goes ahead, it does not have the dramatic effect on fly tipping some fear.