THE Herald has mustered cross-party support for its campaign to save Farnham’s community recycling centre from closure - with councillors demanding that Surrey County Council invest rather than divest in the Bourne Mill tip.

Farnham Residents county councillors Andy MacLeod and Stephen Spence have both spoken out in support of the Herald’s ‘Don’t Dump the Dump’ campaign this week, while Conservative counterpart Wyatt Ramsdale has also written in agreement that Surrey’s case for closing the recycling centre is not “cost justified”.

In a letter to this week’s Herald - printed in full on Page 25 - Waverley Lib Dem campaigner Stewart Edge has also thrown his “full support” behind the campaign, saying that “the council exists to provide services” such as the tip.

Surrey is currently consulting on further cuts to recycling centres - with two of the three proposed cost-cutting options involving the permanent closure of six “smaller, less effective” community recycling centres across the county, including Bourne Mill in Farnham.

More than 1,800 people have since signed a petition objecting to the closure of Farnham’s tip, while Waverley Borough Council’s head of environmental services, Richard Homewood, has expressed concern that the cuts could result in “a lot more fly-tipping” in the borough.

Backing the Herald’s campaign this week, Farnham Central county councillor Andy MacLeod added the only reason Farnham’s recycling centre is among the least used in Surrey is because of its poor customer service and facilities.

Having recently visited such centres in Farnborough and Aldershot, the Farnham Residents councillor said the town’s recycling centre is chronically under-staffed compared to its Hampshire counterparts - which, he said, are attracting Farnham residents away from their local facility.

He said: “It seems remarkable that Farnham is among the six least-used centres according to Surrey, because Farnham has got a population of over 40,000 and is the third biggest town in Surrey. Why on earth would it be the least used? If you look at the recycling centre, it’s fairly obvious.

“It’s a pretty poor recycling centre, and it’s not that well located - there are often queues at busy times backing out to the road. And then when you get in there, there isn’t a lot of space. There are also these nasty metal stairs which are not very good for old folks and people with disabilities - and then everybody complains about the staff being unhelpful.”

Mr MacLeod added hat Hampshire’s recycling centres are open seven days a week and typically staffed by five people at any given time, while Farnham’s centre is only open five days a week and typically staffed by three people.

Surrey sub-contracts the service to Suez, while Hampshire’s tips are run by Veolia - who, Mr MacLeod claimed, have a much greater emphasis on helping customers, whereas Suez’s main focus is to make sure residents put their waste into the right bins, “so they are there to supervise and control the public, not to help them”.

The Herald understands that Farnham mayor David Attfield has also written to Surrey County Council objecting to the tip closure, while Farnham Town Council is hopeful of arranging a consultation event - potentially on Monday, December 17.