COUNCILLORS are vowing to ‘ramp up the pressure’ to keep Middlewich’s tip open.

Residents have already responded to Cheshire East Council’s consultation about the future of its household waste recycling centres beyond 2023, when its current contract ends.

Borough chiefs are considering closing the tip, but at Monday’s Middlewich Town Council meeting members agreed to write to CEC’s cabinet on why it should be saved ahead of a crucial meeting in March.

Cllr Gareth Williams said: “Anecdotally, I believe that more people from Middlewich responded than any other town – we put every other town to shame.

“We have made a really good start, a really good case to keep our tip. I know that the review is now closed to submissions but there is a lot that we can still do between now and March 9.

“We want to really keep up the pressure, ramp up the pressure on [CEC].”

Cllr Jonathan Parry pointed out that Middlewich residents would have to travel to the Pyms Lane tip, in Crewe, and that this would create extra carbon emissions – going against CEC's environmental ambitions.

Meanwhile, Cllr David Latham insisted the council should consider the new homes being built in Middlewich, with hundreds of potential new residents needing to take out their recycling.

A key issue for the recycling centre is its proximity to Cheshire West, with Cllr Parry adding that CEC is paying a ‘significant amount of money’ to get rid of waste from other mid Cheshire residents, but he suggested this could be solved with number plate recognition cameras.

Cllr Mike Hunter, chairman of Middlewich Town Council, pointed out that this was a major issue during the first lockdown due to restrictions at Northwich's tip.

He said: "Northwich residents were only allowed to visit the tip once, so they were taking one lot of rubbish to Northwich and then the next trip they would be coming to Middlewich.

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“It stopped eventually because we were taking names and addresses, but it placed a lot of pressure on the recycling centre.

“Anybody that was waiting to get in would notice because cars were coming from the Northwich area and indicating right to get into the tip – before realising they had to go round and get to the back of the queue."