WASTE bosses in Bradford are aware of social media claims made by residents who say they will fly-tip their local communities in protest at tip closures.

But one top councillor questioned whether “responsible residents” would actually resort to such criminality.

On Tuesday, Bradford councillors were given an update on fly-tipping in the Bradford district.

Members of the Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee were told there had been 2,180 reports of fly-tipping in the district between April 2023 and January 2024.

During the discussion on the issue on Tuesday evening, one Queensbury councillor raised concern that fly-tipping could get worse in the coming weeks when the Council closes three of its tips.

Earlier this month the authority approved its 2024/25 budget, which involved the closure of tips at Sugden End (Keighley), Ford Hill (Queensbury) and Golden Butts (Ilkley).

The closures formed part of a raft of cost cutting measures needed to stave off bankruptcy.

At the meeting, Queensbury Councillor Alex Mitchell (Lab) said some residents had taken to social media to vent their anger.

Cllr Mitchell asked waste bosses at the meeting: “What would you say to residents who have said they plan to fly-tip in their own areas to ‘teach the Council a lesson’?”

Susan Spink, Principal Waste Officer, said: “We are aware that residents have threatened to fly-tip on social media pages.

“My belief is that responsible people don’t fly-tip. We can only monitor what happens when the tips close.

“I would hope that people won’t start fly-tipping because they disagree with these closures.

“I have seen the Queensbury Facebook pages and the comments on there.

“People are rightly concerned about what they are going to lose. But this was something we had to do to cut costs.

“The study into our tips showed they cost too much to run and the haulage costs were too high. There were several reasons we had to make these decisions.”

Chair of the Committee Kamran Hussain (Lab, Heaton) said: “it is important to understand why these sites were closed. We have suffered from serious cuts by Government to local authorities.”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Executive for Healthy People and Places, said: “I think there are a lot of responsible residents in the district, and I think they will continue to be responsible when the tips close.

“I don’t think responsible people will suddenly become irresponsible. I don’t believe everyone will suddenly start fly-tipping, I believe most people will go to the nearest tip.”

Cllr Mitchell said: “I’m sure the comments were just made in the heat of the moment, but it does concern me people have threatened to do that.”