Secret Plan to bring east lancs waste to hapton

Plans to send waste from across much of East Lancashire to a facility in Hapton from April have been met with fury by one of the village's councillors.

Reform UK-run Lancashire County Council's contract with SUEZ for the use of the Whinney Hill landfill site in Altham ends in March.

From April 1, Envirofuel in Accrington Road, Hapton, has been awarded a two-year contract to take non-recyclable rubbish from every borough in East Lancashire except Blackburn with Darwen or the Ribble Valley.

If not taken to Hapton, it would need to be taken to Lancashire County Council’s site at Farington, which is much further away.

Hapton Councillor Jamie McGowan has accused the council of making a deal "in secret" without consultation, and ignoring "better alternatives" put forward by Burnley Council.

The new deal affects waste from Hyndburn, Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle boroughs.

The imminent end of the Whinney Hill contract has caused confusion and consternation for several years.

This new proposal has now generated a new controversy, with Burnley Council’s Conservative group leader and Hapton with Park representative Cllr Jamie McGowan branding it ‘so wrong’. He said:

"This secret LCC deal has taken us all by surprise, and it’s so wrong. There is a world of difference between processed waste and the reality of untreated 'wet' black-bin waste from across all of East Lancashire being dumped on our doorstep.

The secrecy has been staggering. No consultation, no transparency, and better alternatives from Burnley Council have been ignored.

Hapton is being treated as a dumping ground, and frankly, the whole deal stinks.”