Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
Reform-led Derbyshire County Council’s environment chief has insisted that a waste site which is being considered for closure collects the lowest amount of rubbish out of all the county’s authority tips and that the majority of people who use it are not from the county.
Cllr Carol Wood was responding to questions at a Cabinet meeting on January 12 from opposition Conservative and Labour councillors who have raised concerns about the Reform UK council’s money-saving plans to close its Glossop Household Waste Recycling Centre, on Melandra Road, to save £360,000 as part of £22.4m of saving plans for the 2026-27 financial year.
The Reform Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environment explained the Glossop site collects the lowest amount of waste out of all the nine waste centres the council operates and a study based on using its Northwood site as a ‘control’ baseline example helped establish figures from which it was able to infer that Glossop was predominantly used by non-Derbyshire residents.
She told the meeting: “We infer seven out of ten at the facility are not from Derbyshire. It does mirror the experience of site staff and managers who do carry out checks.”
Cllr Wood has previously also pointed out that a substantial £500,000 investment would be needed to make sure the site complies with modern requirements and safety regulations to stay open.
She also reiterated at the meeting that most Derbyshire districts and boroughs operate with one waste site each and the High Peak currently has two tips including the Glossop site and one in Buxton.
Cllr Wood told the meeting: “I believe it’s the only area of the county which actually has two centres in it as opposed to just one. Most districts and boroughs have one.”
Conservative, Labour and Green Party councillors have raised concerns including that residents will have to travel further away for the High Peak’s only other waste site at Waterswallows, in Buxton, and that the proposed Glossop closure may trigger an increase in fly-tipping and Conservative and Labour councillors have disputed claims the site is mainly used by outsiders.
Opposition Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Alex Dale, pointed out at the meeting that the previous Conservative administration managed to keep all nine tips open despite ‘some of the toughest financial pressures seen in Local Government’.
He questioned why the Reform administration believes the site is predominantly used by non-Derbyshire residents and that it is proposing scrapping the Glossop site to save just £360,000 after the former Conservative administration had introduced vehicle registration controls to stop non-Derbyshire residents using the authority’s waste sites.
Cllr Anne Clarke, opposition Labour Group Leader, also requested evidence regarding the Reform council’s claim that the Glossop waste centre is being disproportionately used by non-Derbyshire residents which she says is disputed by county-based residents.
Green Party Leader, Cllr Gez Kinsella, has also argued that the nearest recycling centre to Glossop is over an hour round trip and he claims that based on the total tonnage of Derbyshire’s recycling centres it is possible to estimate that around nine tonnes of waste will go uncollected with much of it fly-tipped.
Independent Councillor, Amy Wheelton, who represents Linton, has also expressed great concern as a farmer and councillor about the possible loss of a council asset, a residential amenity and services and the potential increase in fly-tipping.
Cllr Wood has argued the Glossop waste site is the least used of all the council’s recycling centres and it is being used ‘predominantly by people who do not live in Derbyshire’ and who therefore do not pay their council tax in the county.
She explained that a full consultation is proposed on whether the council will proceed with the closure plans and it is hoped this will examine the range of impacts that residents may experience before any decision is made.
Cllr Wood said the Glossop waste centre proposal is part of efforts for the council to make sure it can set a balanced budget for 2026-27 and while no closures have previously been implemented at waste sites a large number of changes have already been put in place including reduced hours, charges for materials and a vehicle number plate recognition scheme to bring in savings.
She stated that it is important to look at all the options before deciding on the best way forward including whether there is a different way to provide the service or whether the service is still needed at all.
The council has predicted a shortfall in its budget for the 2026-27 financial year of £37.8m which has led to the latest proposed savings measures or planned cuts being put forward to set a balanced budget and to ensure the provision of essential services.
Its new overall saving proposals aim to deliver £22.4m of savings in 2026-27 to support meeting the forecast budget funding shortfall and it says the remaining shortfall will be made up from £2.5m of savings with changes to the way the council operates and with £12.9m to be saved from corporate budgets.
The saving plans could see the closure of the Glossop waste centre, a review of fee rates for home care, changes to the community support beds system in care homes to reduce costs, more technology to support adult social care, and a service redesign with a ‘transformation’ department with greater efficiencies and the removal of long-term vacancies across corporate services.
Derbyshire County Council has stated that if the proposed savings and efficiencies do not progress then alternative savings will need to be found by services in order to meet a legal obligation to set a balanced budget.
The council’s budget plan does not rule out job cuts but it states that it will seek to avoid this where possible through other savings within departments with vacancy controls, redeployment and ‘voluntary release’.
Derbyshire County Council’s Reform Cabinet noted its budget and saving proposals for 2026-27 and its Medium Term Financial Plan forecast at its latest meeting and it referred the plans to a Resources Scrutiny Committee meeting on January 14.
A budget-setting report will be further considered by the Cabinet at a meeting on January 29 before all the matters including the saving plans go to a Full Council meeting on February 11 for all the councillors to consider.
Derbyshire County Council currently runs nine waste recycling centres across the county for Derbyshire residents including Chesterfield, Bolsover, Loscoe, Northwood at Darley Dale, Ilkeston, Glossop, Ashbourne, Bretby and Waterswallows, at Buxton.
The council’s former Conservative administration reduced opening hours in 2024 at eight of its nine waste sites, excluding Buxton, and introduced charges for tyre and asbestos disposals as well as a vehicle number plate recognition system to deter outsiders to save £500,000 as part of efforts to overcome a multi-million pound budget deficit.
