PLANS to move a household waste site from Southwold to nearby Halesworth have not gone down well in the seaside town.Town councillors at Halesworth have campaigned for a site in the area as residents currently have to travel to Beccles, Southwold or Leiston to reach the nearest facility.

PLANS to move a household waste site from Southwold to nearby Halesworth have not gone down well in the seaside town.

Town councillors at Halesworth have campaigned for a site in the area as residents currently have to travel to Beccles, Southwold or Leiston to reach the nearest facility.

Earlier this year David Coupe, waste services manager with Suffolk County Council, was invited to a meeting of the town council to discuss the present situation.

Mr Coupe admitted that people living in the Halesworth area were not well served in terms of having a waste site and recyling centre within easy travelling distance.

He explained that it costs up to £200,000 to fund a new centre and said that an alternative proposal could be to relocate the Southwold waste site at Halesworth as it is currently under-used compared with similar sites at Beccles and Leiston.

"We know there are access problems with the site at Southwold and it may be possible to relocate the centre to a new position in the Halesworth area which would have better road links," said Mr Coupe.

Town councillors in Halesworth have written to neighbouring town and parish councils about the idea and canvassing support for such a move.

However, when their letter was read out at a meeting of Southwold Town Council's policy and finance committee this week councillors strongly opposed the suggestion.

Deputy mayor John Winter said: "I wish Halesworth all the best in their campaign to get such a household waste site but it should not be at the expense of the facility here in Southwold."

Cllr Anne Bryant said: "There is no way we can support this proposal as it would sound the death knell for our own waste site that is used by people in Reydon and Wangford as well as Southwold."

Ian Drummond, who lives in Lorne Road, Southwold, has written to town councillors and other residents calling on them to oppose any move to move the town's household waste site.

"Of course we have no objection to the provision of new services being provided at Halesworth but why it has to be at the cost of the Southwold site being closed does not seem to make sense.

"The justification, I am told, is simply the under-use of the Southwold location and the fact that Halesworth and district have a larger population," said Mr Drummond.

He also felt that more people would use the site at Southwold if the unmade access road that runs alongside Southwold Common was improved.

Southwold Allotment Holders' Association also object to the possible closure of the Southwold site as members believe it would lead to an increase in fly-tipping in the area.

The allotments at Southwold are close to the present household waste site and members use the same access road to get to their plots.

Town councillors in Halesworth have been campaigning for a household waste site for more than ten years and have identified possible locations for such a site in the Blyth Road industrial park or alongside Sparrowhawk Road in Upper Holton.