Councillors were left perplexed that Cheshire East Council had submitted travel data in a public consultation, to determine the future of Congleton's household and waste recycling centre, during a period of national lockdown.

In November, Cheshire East Council's Cabinet gave approval for plans to be sent out for public consultation to close some of its recycling sites in 2023.

There are currently eight sites and the Cabinet approved four different scenarios to reduce the number of tips to between three and six.

None of the scenarios retained a site in Congleton, which means local residents would have to travel to Macclesfield.

Congleton Town Council discussed Cheshire East's proposals at Thursday's meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Robert Douglas highlighted that the daily usage to the borough's recycling centres in the proposals presented by Cheshire East, was based on the daily usages of the months during the first Covid-19 national lockdown (May and June 2020).

Cllr Douglas said: "This was carried out when many of us including myself stayed at home well away from the recycling sites to protect loved ones.

"We were also restricted on which days we could go to the recycling sites whether our vehicle had an odd or even registration number."

Cllr Douglas submitted a Freedom of Information request to Cheshire East for the latest daily or weekly usage of their eight recycling sites during the year ending 31st March 2020 given that the usage figures during the first lockdown in Cheshire East's proposals "did not allow a meaningful decision to be made".

Cllr Douglas was "surprisingly" told the latest information in the authority's possession dated back from February to April 2016, which was almost five years ago when the Arclid recycling centre was still open.

Fortunately, as Cllr Douglas had started the petition to keep Arclid open, he was already in possession of this relevant information for Arclid.

Five years ago based on that information, daily usage at Congleton's Barn Road site was over 30% higher (243 average daily usage) than the figures shown in the latest 2020 proposals during lockdown (186 average daily usage), which were sent out for public consultation.

Cllr Douglas added: "Cheshire East does not appear to know how many of those that visited the Arclid site now visit Congleton instead.

"But if we take a course of assumption of 50% and add the additional users as a result of the new homes built over the last five years, the actual daily usage figure for the Congleton recycling site could be getting towards double the figure as set out in Cheshire East's proposals, which means those proposals are not fit for purpose."

On 20th February 2020, Cheshire East full council approved the medium-term financial strategy and within its capital programme, there was a budget of £4million for a new purpose-built for Congleton to be spent over two years of 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Cllr Paul Duffy felt the recording of the number of visits to tips during lockdown was "ludicrous" and felt during Covid-19, proposals that included "false information" regarding the number of car journeys made should be rejected.

The Liberal Democrat councillor highlighted that plans to close Congleton's centre contradicted the borough's active travel and climate emergency environment policies.

Cllr Duffy told the committee that for a Congleton resident to travel to Macclesfield via car, it would be a 15-mile round trip which would produce 3.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per week.

Cllr Duffy added: "A town this size, we absolutely need a recycling centre."

Cllr Kay Wesley, who recently spoke to staff members at Congleton's recycling centre, was told that employers had been instructed to no longer count the number of vehicles entering the site.

Cllr David Brown felt that Congleton residents would travel to Biddulph's recycling site as well as Macclesfield.

Cllr Duncan Amies felt losing the tip would be "catastrophic" for the residents of Congleton and such a loss would play a big part in how the current elected Congleton Town Council councillors would be remembered.

The committee was told by Cllr Amanda Martin that Congleton currently has 27,000 residents with around 13,000 dwellings, but Cheshire East's Local Plan would see a further 4,000 dwellings built across the town.

An increase of 4,000 dwellings could increase the population of the town to 36,000. Cllr Martin highlighted that Macclesfield currently had 51,000 residents and around 22,000 dwellings, but they also had a number of developments earmarked in the Local Plan.

Cllr Martin said: "If you add all that together [Congleton and Macclesfield], I am sure it is going to be well over the top of the number of dwellings a waste centre is supposed to cater."

Cllr George Hayes said: "This authority of Cheshire East has previously benefitted from being recognised nationally as one of those with the highest recycling rates and I am committed to ensuring that this is something we will be able to celebrate again locally.

"It does not take a rocket scientist to appreciate that Congleton is a growing population and recycling quite rightly is a growing trend that should be encouraged, as well as the associated environmental protections of promoting shorter car journeys through investment in localised facilities.

"I am sure that I am not the only one who finds it ironic that on the one hand the borough council declares a climate emergency and on the other is removing facilities that promote people taking responsible action to counteract this.

"I think this shows once again how out of touch Cheshire East is with the needs of Congleton, using data we all recognise to be fundamentally flawed to try and justify a proposal which flies somewhat in the face of their supposed strategic direction."

Cllr Suzy Firkin claimed that Congleton's current recycling centre was "far from ideal" and did need to be "relocated and improved" just like "other" recycling centres in Cheshire East.

She added: "That requires Cheshire East to step up and do the right thing as opposed to doing the easy option and merely closing the centre because it has got too difficult from a land ownership and revamp perspective."

Congleton Town Council proposed to:

- Strongly recommend that Cheshire East should delay the consultation until it is able to provide details of the average number of users per day after normality has returned, this will ensure that decisions relating to the future of household recycling sites are soundly based.

Only then, can the adverse impact of increased CO2 emissions be ascertained which in the case of just Congleton residents would be significantly more than 200 tonnes each year.

- That the officers formally notify Cheshire East that Congleton Town Council rejects its proposals not to provide a household recycling centre in or near Congleton on account of its significant adverse impact on the environment, including poorer air quality, increased fly-tipping and reduced cycling which is a "total contradiction" of Cheshire East's commitments to sustainability and becoming carbon neutral by 2025.

- Congleton Town Council urges Cheshire East to adhere to its commitment of providing a new purpose-built household recycling site for Congleton which was approved at its full council meeting on 20th February 2020.

Residents can take part in the consultation until 5pm on January 4, 2021.