A council leader has gathered 1,500 signatures hours after launching a petition to keep a local rubbish tip open.

It comes after the Household Waste Recycling Centre in west Dartford which, alongside three other rubbish tips in Kent, has been earmarked for closure.

Under one option being considered, recycling centres in Faversham, Maidstone (Tovil), and at Richborough near Sandwich would all shut permanently as Kent County Council (KCC) looks to make savings of £1.5 million.

An alternative proposal is for just three of these sites to close – but this would mean 10 other tips also shutting for two days a week.

The authority says there has been a dramatic reduction in the amount of waste being taken to its tips over the past five years.

On Wednesday, May 17, Dartford Borough Council Leader Jeremy Kite launched his bid to keep the local rubbish tip open, as it is the only one in the entire borough.

He said: “I’m surprised by the response to it. It’s gone up to 1,500 in just slightly more than 24 hours. I think this shows the depth of support for the waste recycling centre at Dartford.

“I do understand that KCC needs to save money and I am supportive of that. I voted for the budget back in February, so I understand the need to save money, but I think the savings have to be done fairly and equitably.

“And what I think we all need to do is drill down to find out why it is that Dartford was selected to get the chop.

“Dartford is by no means one of those that are not very popular. I think there are five or six other sites in Kent that are less popular than the one here, and they aren’t being earmarked for potential closure.”

“What I’m seeking is more clarity over the decision. I want to support our local one, and I don’t think it’s right that an entire borough like Dartford should be left without a single tip in it.

“It’s not as if we have multiple tips and we’re looking at closing one of them. On the contrary, this would be the only tip we have here, and I think it’s wrong that a town like Dartford shouldn’t have one.

“I don’t want local residents in the west of Dartford to travel all the away across the borough on some of the most congested roads in the country to get to a tip in another borough. It just doesn’t seem sensible to me.

“I think we have to have a network there, which respects the fact that local people want to use a local tip.”

Cllr Kite made sure to clarify that his petition is not a protest or aggressive manifestation against KCC, as he was one of those who voted for the budget back in February.

He said: “This is not about me railing against the budget cuts or railing against the savings. It's about saying there are better ways of making those savings. With the invitation from Susan Carey at KCC, the cabinet member was to go out and engage the population to try and come up with other ideas.

“And that's exactly what I'm doing. So it is not an aggressive act or intended to be a protest in the traditional sense. It's actually to get people engaged in the story and to try to say ‘we think they're alternatives’ and to be proactive in helping them find what they are.”

KCC’s cabinet member for environment, Susan Carey, said: “The budget for 2023/24 agreed by KCC councillors in February identified the need to save £55 million this year from spending reductions and increased income to balance the budget. These savings are necessary to balance the books as the cost of services KCC provides has risen by more than £200 million.

“As part of these savings, we are having to make some very challenging decisions about where we can offer our services in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.

“A report on KCC’s Household Waste Recycling Centre network will be discussed by the Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee on May with a proposal that a public consultation should take place to gather the views of residents and wider stakeholders.

“No decisions will be made until all options and feedback from the consultation have been considered.”