Ilkley’s Member of Parliament Robbie Moore has called on Bradford Council to ‘immediately halt’ the sale of Golden Butts following news that the authority has been handed a £127.1m funding boost from the government.
The local MP argues that efforts should now be made to reverse the controversial closure decision and bring the site back into public use.
Under the terms of the financial package announced by the government this week, councils receiving support are explicitly warned against selling off community and heritage assets.
Mr Moore argues the government directive raisies serious questions over Bradford Council’s decision to push ahead with the sale of Golden Butts.
In November, Bradford Council signed off £40m worth of savings in an attempt to balance its books, with cuts to its street cleaning budget and a reduction in library hours also among the measures it took.
Last month, the council finalised plans to raise council tax bills by almost 10%.
Ilkley’s Conservative Town Councillors recently put forward proposals to acquire the Golden Butts site and restore services, but the plan was ultimately blocked.
The local MP is demanding that the Council drop plans to offload the site and instead work with Ilkley Town Council and local stakeholders to restore waste disposal and recycling services for residents.
Robbie Moore MP said:
"Following news of exceptional financial support for Bradford Council, it is now utterly indefensible for the Council to plough ahead with the sale of Golden Butts.
"This funding package comes with a clear warning—not to sell off community and heritage assets. That is exactly what Golden Butts is. It must be protected for local people and this financial boost should be used to help bring our recycling centre back into public use.
"That is why today, I am calling for an immediate halt on efforts to sell-off Golden Butts.
It is clear that the Council should now work with Ilkley Town Council and local stakeholders to restore waste disposal and recycling services in Ilkley.”
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said:
"The MP has misunderstood. It’s wrong to tell people that the council has received a “boost” to our finances, this is not the case. Exceptional financial support from Government is not a grant, it is an approval to borrow or sell assets to finance our running costs, and this borrowing has to be paid back with interest. This happened in the same way last year under the Tory Government too, it does not change our financial position.
"The Golden Butts site is not a Community Heritage Asset, it's a former recycling centre and depot. I realise that people valued the facility and it pained us to have to close it but there are no historic or buildings of architectural merit on it and none of it is listed."
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