A COUNCILLOR has spoken out after Bradford Council put a former tip in Ilkley up for sale.

The Golden Butts Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Golden Butts Road, Ilkley, which is now closed, has been put on the market by the Council.

In a letter to Ilkley ward councillors Ros Brown, Andrew Loy and David Nunns concerning Golden Butts, the Council’s Estate Management team wrote: “The asset has been approved for sale and our agents have been instructed to market this within the next few weeks.

Although objections were received from ward councillors, the letter notes a decision was made by the relevant portfolio holder.

The letter states “the presumption is the disposal will proceed unless there is good reason not to”.

The letter states: “The disposal of these sites is considered critical, in line with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy which identifies the need to generate significant capital receipts through the planned disposal programme during 2024/25 and 2025/26.”

The letter states that it received the following objection from Cllr Loy, who said: “I wish to object in strongest possible terms against the proposed sale of Golden Butts.

“The site has been in public ownership since long before Ilkley came under the governance of Bradford Council. It is an asset which belongs to the town.

“If Bradford Council no longer has a use for the site, it should be transferred to Ilkley Town Council, preferably by a Community Asset Transfer.

“It is particularly galling to propose disposing of the site while Ilkley Town Council is actively developing and discussing proposals to reopen and manage the HWRC.

“Any disposal of the land should be delayed until such proposals have been finalised and can be considered by Bradford Council.”

The letter goes on to say that “the decision has been made to market the site, inviting offers from all interested parties,” which includes Ilkley Town Council.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, a Bradford Council spokesperson said: “The Golden Butts Household Waste Recycling Centre site is on the market and we will carefully consider all approaches including the Town Council should they wish to bid.”

In a post on Facebook, Cllr Loy said: “Bradford Council confirmed Golden Butts HWRC is being marketed for sale. We strongly objected to this.

“However, now it is going ahead, we need to decide as a town what to do. We know how important this issue is, as the town council’s recent community consultation showed that 93.7 per cent (853 respondents) agreed with the statement: ‘Are you in favour of ITC reinstating a local Household Waste Recycling Centre in Ilkley, if possible, at an additional cost to residents?’

“Although it certainly wouldn’t have been anyone’s first preference, we believe Ilkley Town Council should at least consider submitting a bid to buy the site and reinstate the recycling centre.

“We are currently working on a draft bid and hope it will be submitted in the next few weeks.

“Either way, we should know the outcome very soon.”

The Ilkley Gazette has contacted Bradford Council for a comment.