Communities in the north of Wiltshire are urging Wiltshire Council to do a deal with Swindon Borough Council to tackle the issue head-on.

Households in Cricklade, north of Swindon, along with Purton and Royal Wootton Bassett, which are to the west of the town, rely on the household recycling centre at Purton.

Last week (December 5) Wiltshire Council revealed its plans to close recycling centres at Purton and at Lower Compton, near Calne.

They promised to consult the public on the plans – but by the time the council’s Liberal Democrat-led Cabinet met on Tuesday, December 9 to discuss the plans a vote was being taken on leaving the sites by the end of July next year.

The council said people from the north of the county would be able to use recycling centres at Marlborough (a 40-mile round trip from Cricklade) or Stanton St Quintin (a 38-mile round trip from Purton).

The meeting heard that renewing a contract with Swindon-headquartered Hills Waste Services – which owns the two sites – would be “unsustainable”.

Wiltshire Council wants to exit to current contract when it expires at the end of July 2026 and build a new facility in the north of the county – although that is not expected to be operational until the end of 2028.

Wiltshire councillor Nick Dye (Cricklade & Latton, Liberal Democrat) asked cabinet members: “Can my colleague Cllr Andrew Matthews (Royal Wootton Bassett East, Liberal Democrat) and I ask you to ensure that residents are provided with continuity in household recycling services?

“We’re looking for dialogue for reciprocal arrangements with surrounding authorities and temporary provision to be fully in place before any closure takes place.”

Cllr Paul Sample, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for environment, climate and waste, responded: “I know that the change that we’re going to go through is definitely going to impact significant numbers of people.

“Can I provide you with a guarantee that there will be an HRC centre in the north of Wiltshire? The answer is yes, I can.

“As a cabinet we are 100 per cent committed to delivering a new HRC owned by Wiltshire Council operated by our appointed contractor.

“And we have asked for that work to begin and plans to be drawn up for applications to be made for planning permission for a site that’s owned by wheelchair council.”

And Stuart Pryde, vice chairman of Cricklade Town Council, asked: “Could the cabinet explore the possibility of a reciprocal arrangement with a waste facility much nearer, say Swindon, which is substantially closer than the one in Marlborough, which is a 30 minute additional journey for people each way?

“It would be particularly useful in the north of Wiltshire if we could access, in the interim period, an alternate facility.”

Council leader Ian Thorn said: “We’re very happy to look at that.

“My only caveat would be I suspect Swindon would probably want to charge us for it. But nonetheless that’s not a reason for us not asking the question.”

In a statement outside of the meeting, Cllr Sample told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are in the process of contacting our neighbouring authorities to discuss issues associated with cross boundary waste.

“These conversations are still at an early stage, and any future arrangements would need to ensure no additional cost burden to Wiltshire taxpayers.”

While Cllr Bridget Wayman, Conservative spokesman for the environment, said: “This is not a consultation – it is the Liberal Democrats telling you what is going to happen.”

Swindon Borough Council has been approached for comment.

A petition to revoke the closure of Purton Recycling Centre has already attracted more than 1,300 signatures.