Consultation launched over potential closure of Glossop tip

Derbyshire County Council held a Cabinet meeting on Thursday 9th April to decide the next steps in the potential closure of Glossop Household Waste Recycling Centre. 

After a vote, the decision was made to proceed with a 12-week public consultation, which will inform the final decision on whether to close the tip or keep it open as part of budget-saving options outlined in the 2026-27 budget-setting process. 

The Cabinet has now delegated authority to the Resources and Waste Department to finalise the consultation questionnaire and supporting materials, in collaboration with the Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environment, Cllr Carol Wood. The consultation will run from Friday 24th April. 

Following the meeting, the Glossop Chronicle spoke to the Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr Alex Dale. At the meeting, Cllr Dale asked Cllr Wood: 

“It’s genuinely remarkable to see Derbyshire Reform Party urging residents to ‘help keep Glossop tip open’ on social media when it’s your own administration proposing to close it. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that your party is completely tone‑deaf to your own decisions. How do you think local residents in Glossopdale will perceive this irony and given the justification for ‘low Derbyshire usage’ is based entirely on guesswork and inference, how can they have any confidence that this closure is being pursued on a sound and defensible evidence base?” 

Cllr Wood replied that the proposal would save the council an annual cost of £360,000. She explained that this centre had been chosen for potential closure because it has the lowest level of visits and annual tonnage of all the centres in Derbyshire, and the figures supporting the proposed closure were “robust and accurate figures, and not an estimate.” She added that usage figures were “accurate and recorded via Weighbridge data and ANPR cameras.” 

Cllr Wood also noted that a “significant usage” of the tip was by residents outside of Derbyshire, though she said this figure was based on a council estimate. She emphasised that the primary decision to close the tip was not based on this estimate, but purely on the need to achieve savings from the budget. 

Cllr Dale told the Chronicle he felt frustrated that Cllr Wood had not answered his question: 

“I'm really disappointed that the Reform Cabinet member refused the opportunity to set a few things straight. We've got Reform locally trying to encourage residents to save the local tip, despite the fact that it’s ironically a Reform administration that's proposing to close it in the first place, and Cllr Wood completely refused to respond to that point. The rest of her answer really just belittled the concerns and made it very clear that the council's only care is about the budget. 

“The amount proposed to be saved is only a very modest saving, and I think it's disappointing that Reform were elected on a promise of cutting council waste and bureaucracy, and instead of doing that they are choosing to cut essential waste services that so many residents rely on. 

“I really feel sorry for Glossop residents and we will absolutely be supporting as much as we can as a Conservative group to help keep Glossop tip open, and also stop the Reform administration from closing any other tips around the county. 

“I’m pleased to see that at least we do finally now have a consultation, so residents will formally have their say over this proposal. I'd strongly encourage all Glossop residents to make your voices heard through this consultation - try and make the case as best as you can that this is an essential service, an essential facility that local people rely on, and the council must rethink this dreadful proposal.” 

The Glossop Chronicle will share details of how to take part in the public consultation as soon as they are released.