Burnley household recycling waste centre looks set to have opening hours slashed

At yesterday's budget meeting, councillors approved service cuts of £77m. affecting areas including welfare, special educational needs and disability services and household waste recycling centres.

Burnley's recycling centre currently opens 8am until 7pm seven days a week during the summer (April 1st to September 30th) and 8am to 5pm seven days a week during winter (October 1st to March 31st).

If given the go-ahead, the centre would only open between the hours of 9am and 5pm seven days a week.

All centres in Lancashire would be brought under these 9am to 5pm opening times and it is proposed that this would begin from October.

The proposals also call for reducing the opening of Barnoldswick and Clitheroe's centres to five days a week.

A report put before councillors stated there is "potential for staff redundancies within the HWRC service" and the changes could result in slightly longer waiting times but this would be minimal.

The public is being asked to give their views on the plans which they can do here.

Conservative leader Geoff Driver said the public consultations would be "genuine" and the council would be willing to listen to responses.

However, Labour opposition leader Azhar Ali said the budget will "sink communities" and called it "Tories' Valentine's Day Massacre".

The budget will also see County Hall’s share of council tax rise by 3.99 percent – the maximum allowed without a referendum – adding £52 the annual bill of a Band D household.