Councillors object to Hampshire County Council’s plans to close 12 tips including Marchwood and Somerley and axing of three New Forest school crossing patrols at Blackfield, Holbury and Lyndhurst

PLANS by the county council to axe three Forest school crossing patrols and shut two tips have been blasted by its own committee members.

As reported in the A&T, Hampshire County Council is proposing to cut 17 patrols across Hampshire – but it will also be looking at the future of 154 others – as the Conservative-run authority looks to meet a forecasted £175m budget shortfall by next April.

This includes those near Blackfield primary, on Exbury Road/Hampton Lane in Blackfield; near Cadland Primary and Manor CofE Infant schools at Studley Avenue/Lime Kiln Lane in Holbury; and on the A35 High Street in Lyndhurst, near Saint Michael and All Angels Infant School.

The council is also looking to close household waste and recycling centres in Marchwood and Somerley, near Ringwood.

Both recommendations were scrutinised by HCC’s universal services select committee, and were met with strong opposition by members.

The council says £114,000 could be saved if the 17 patrols are cut, but it has previously proposed removing all patrols, with savings of £1.1m. As well as the New Forest, this would affect sites in Havant, Fareham, Gosport, Eastleigh, Hart, Test Valley and Winchester.

If the tip closures go ahead, the council would save up to £1.6m. Other sites in the county which are earmarked for closure are Aldershot, Alresford, Bordon, Bishops Waltham, Casbrook, Fair Oak, Hedge End, Hartley Whitney, Hayling Island and Petersfield.

Cllr Malcolm Wade, who represents Hythe and Dibden, warned about the impact the cuts to crossing patrols would have on children.

He said: “The reality is, we’re in such a financial hole that we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We really should not be looking at this. What price a child’s life? Not £1.1m.

“If we do this, there will be accidents where there were previous crossing patrols – statistically, it will happen.

“We should not put the children of Hampshire in this position – this is a cut too far. It is immoral, illogical and it is not right for the safety of children.”

Cllr Rod Cooper, who represents Farnborough, proposed an amendment to the recommendation, asking the council to defer a decision until further detailed assessments of the sites had been undertaken. This was carried.

The select committee met again to discuss the tip closures, with 12 of HCC’s 24 sites deemed to be either in need of “extensive” investment or are rated poor value for money.

However, an amended proposal put forward by Havant-based Cllr Jackie Branson urged the council to rethink the plan and allow further discussion on alternative options.

Cllr Wade said the decision to close Marchwood would force Fordingbridge residents to undertake a 22-mile trip to the next nearest HWRC in Pennington.

“This is increasing the amount of people driving and increasing the amount of carbon that we are asking our residents to put into the environment. We declared a climate emergency, but this is not consistent when we are asking people to get into their cars.”

He said the “fragile environment” of the national park was at risk from increased flytipping as a result of closures, adding: “Whilst many of our residents will dispose of their recycling by appropriate means, there will be some who will take a short drive to a leafy lane where they will leave their waste.

“The amount of money this saves does not get the council out of the financial problems it is in.”

Members of the committee voted unanimously in favour of the amendment, with a final decision taken on all the proposed cuts on 14th October.

HCC leader, Cllr Nick Adams-King, said: “None of these are easy decisions, but they are the ones in front of us that we need to make in order to ensure our budget is sustainable going forwards.

“I want to reassure you and the people of Hampshire that we are listening to all your concerns.”

The opposition has been welcomed by the New Forest District Council, with cabinet member for environment and sustainability, Cllr Geoffrey Blunden concerned at the “knock-on burden” closing the HWRCs would have on the protected habitats and landscapes of the national park.

He added: “We know from data collected during the covid period, when household waste recycling centres were closed, that there was a demonstrable uptick in the environmental scourge that is fly tipping.

“Recycling centres are a key component of promoting recycling and reuse, as all councils act towards the binding Net Zero 2050 targets”.