Council leader faces hometown revolt over recycling centre plans
Councillors in Calne say they're opposed to plans to shut the Lower Compton Household Recycling Centre
The leader of Wiltshire Council has been slammed by his hometown council, of which he is mayor, over a decision to close Calne’s closest household recycling centre.
At a meeting of Calne Town Council last night (Wednesday, January 14), councillors passed an motion that it that “Calne Town Council opposes the closure of Lower Compton Recycling Centre until another suitable, and local, site is found and ready for use.
“Calne Town Council urge Wiltshire Council to continue negotiations with Hills to enable this to happen.”
An amendment to the motion, that Calne Town Council “expresses its disappointment in our Mayor’s abject failure to represent the best interests of the residents of Calne in the matter of Lower Compton Recycling Centre.”
The original was tabled by Labour town councillor Celia Stevens, while the amendment came from Labour colleague Tara Fisher.
The decision to close two household recycling centres, at Lower Compton and at Purton, was taken by Wiltshire Council’s Liberal Democrat-led cabinet before Christmas – and was met with immediate dismay and outrage.
The council and cabinet are headed by Ian Thorn, who is also the mayor of Calne.
Cllr Thorn was not at the meeting. He is recovery in hospital from a scheduled surgical procedure.
After the meeting, Cllr Stevens said: “The Mayor should be the key person fighting for Calne so being Leader of Wiltshire Council at the same time inevitably brings a conflict of interest.
“Ian is in hospital and I do of course wish him all the best for a speedy recovery, but he chose to take on both roles and has to be accountable for that.
“It was very well attended by members of the public who clearly felt let down.
“Calne has become a Lib Dem stronghold with promises that things would be better under a Lib Dem administration.
“There was also a strong sense that residents are not being given the full financial information despite promises of open government.”
Conservative Town Councillor Bobby Seymour, who supported the Labour motion, said: “Calne Town Council has sent a clear message to Wiltshire Liberal Democrats that this move is unwelcome, undemocratic and unwarranted.
“This policy, along with the three weekly bin collections and raising parking charges, did not feature in the Lib Dems manifesto in May so it is no wonder that residents are feeling angry at these moves.
“It is also shocking, but not surprising, that the council has decided that discussions about this decision will be held in secret.
“I urge all residents to attend the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade area board on the 20th of January to express their views on this decision.”
Cllr Thorn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: I understand why residents are upset by our decision to close the HRC at Lower Compton.
“As a Calne councillor, I would have voted for the motion. As the person ultimately responsible for the financial management of Wiltshire Council I have a legal duty to balance the books.
“This is certainly not a decision I wanted to make. However, without making significant savings on our budget, this and other decisions would have resulted in the need to increase the council tax above the approved minimum – something many councils are seeking to do.
“I don’t think anyone would have been happy with even higher increases in council tax.”