Cheshire East Council are proposing that they do not replace the Congleton household and waste recycling centre with a new facility once the lease of the current site comes to an end.

Cheshire East councillors are to discuss draft recommendations that would reduce the future running costs of the borough's household waste recycling centres and prevent an additional bill of around £4m.

The council currently runs eight household waste recycling centres (HWRC) for use by residents, with the current contract for this operation ending in 2023.

A public consultation on a range of proposed scenarios for the future shape of the HWRC contract was carried out in 2020.

On Friday, the council's environment and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee will receive an update on the review from officers and will consider the draft recommendations arising from it, including one not to replace Congleton's HWRC facility when the council's lease of the site is brought to an end by the landowner.

Cllr Laura Crane, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and waste, said: "The aim of the review of our HWRCs was to plan ahead for 2023 so that we can continue to enable residents to dispose of and recycle their waste responsibly, whilst balancing the financial pressures over coming years.

"A number of scenarios were consulted upon, including the closure of a total of five sites, and I would like to thank all those who took the time to respond to our consultation.

"While we would of course wish to continue offering the same service provision as we do now, replacing the facility at Congleton would place an even greater burden on the council's financial resources.

"Congleton's current facility is on a site that is leased by the council. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to negotiate, the owner of the site has informed the council that they will not consider a renewal of the lease, which is due to come to an end in September.

"As a direct result, this would mean commissioning and funding the creation of a new facility in Congleton – a capital cost of around £4m leading to around £250,000 per year in additional costs for the council.

"All councils up and down the country are facing significant financial pressure and are reluctantly having to make tough decisions to enable essential services to continue to be delivered – particularly to the most vulnerable.

"And whilst the council's Medium Term Financial Strategy – our budget plans for the next four years - includes £4m for Congleton HWRC, it is within the addendum to our capital programme. This means that it can only go ahead once a detailed business case has been approved to make sure the proposal is affordable.

"As a result, we are considering that we do not replace Congleton HWRC with a new facility once the lease of the current site comes to an end."

The nearest alternative sites for residents served by Congleton HWRC are Alsager (around eight miles away) and Macclesfield (around six miles away).

A final report and the recommendations of the Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be considered by Cabinet in March.