Fears for Ludlow tip after poor response to consultation

But three months ago a petition to save the Coder Road waste disposal site attracted nearly 2,000 signatures – prompting a campaigner to claim people had since become "disillusioned" and felt that nobody at Shropshire Council was listening to them.

The authority has earmarked the site for closure, claiming it is not being used anywhere near as much as the other waste sites in the county.

Figures say Coder Road receives 25,000 visits a year, compared to 750,000 visits for Shropshire's five other centres.

The council also points to below average recycling rates and claims it would cost the taxpayer £600,000 to bring Coder Road up to the same standard as its other sites.

But supporters of Coder Road insist it is still well-used, and have raised fears of an increase in fly-tipping if it is shut. A decision on the site's future was put off last October after a massive response to the petition calling for it to be preserved.

A second round of consultation ended at Christmas. But former deputy mayor of Ludlow, Amanda Pope, who led the petition, said the comparatively low number of responses was a sign people did not think Shropshire Council would listen to them. She said: "I think people are disillusioned. If they're not going to listen to a petition with thousands of people, what are they going to listen to? "

Dr Larry Wolfe, Shropshire Council's head of waste management, said the responses had yet to be considered.

"We'd like to thank everyone who submitted responses during the second phase of consultation into the future of the Coder Road amenity skip site. The decision is due to be made in late January."