New Forest District Council leader, Cllr Jill Cleary, urged to step in over Hampshire County Council’s proposed closures of Marchwood and Somerley waste and recycling centres

THE leader of New Forest District Council has been urged to write to the government over the “dire financial situation” which is leading to proposed cuts to services including waste and recycling centres.

The plea by Cllr Jack Davies was made at a meeting of the district council on Monday, in which he spoke of his concern at the threat to two of the centres at Marchwood and Somerley, near Ringwood.

As reported in the A&T, the facilities are among 12 under threat, as Conservative-run Hampshire County Council seeks to meet a forecasted £132m budget shortfall by April 2025.

A petition has been launched by the New Forest Liberal Democrats, including Cllr Davies, who called the proposal “ill-considered” and “unworkable”.

He asked the council to oppose the plans on the grounds it could lead to an increase in flytipping in its formal response to the consultation,

This would result in greater cost to the council for clearing flytips, he said.

He asked Cllr Jill Cleary, the council’s leader, to write to government highlighting “the dire financial situation of local authorities” and to urge for greater funding to avoid cuts to public services.

The meeting heard the request will be referred to the council’s resource and transformation overview and scrutiny panel, which meets on 28th April.