Ludlow Town Council is very concerned about the future of the household recycling centre at Craven Arms.

Shropshire Council has raised the possible closure of two centres out of Craven Arms, Bridgnorth, Oswestry and Whitchurch as part of Shropshire Council's budget process. Although, it seems that the centre at Shrewsbury will remain open.

Shropshire is a large rural county with few recycling centres. We cannot afford to lose any more recycling facilities, especially in the south of the county.

If the household recycling centre at Craven Arms closes, residents of Ludlow will have to travel 20 miles to Bridgnorth or 30 miles to Shrewsbury - both completely impractical. The nearest centre for Ludlow and its surrounding area would be 12 miles away in Leominster, which is run by Herefordshire Council, but Shropshire residents do not live / pay Council Tax in Herefordshire.

Shropshire Council say that their decision will be based on economic value, however, they must ensure that they do not sabotage Shropshire’s wider economy with short sighted decisions causing more problems than they solve.

In 2014, Shropshire Council closed the Ludlow household recycling centre, which led to more fly-tipping and less recycling because residents were either not able or not willing to travel longer distances.

More closures will blight urban and rural areas of the county with increased fly tipping - creating roadside and wildlife hazards. Whitcliffe common is an important wildlife habitat in Ludlow and closing the nearest recycling centre will cause more environmentally damaging fly-tipping.

If Shropshire Council does not spend time and money removing the fly-tipping, it will negatively impact on tourism and civic pride in Shropshire. Ludlow, and Shropshire as a whole, have worked hard to boost the county’s tourism profile - often successfully attracting national press coverage proclaiming the beauty of the area.

Closing household recycling centres is contrary to Shropshire Council's Climate Pledge, and it will disadvantage residents, undermine tourism, damage the environment, and cost Shropshire, and Shropshire Council more than it saves.