Pendle Council has agreed Liberal Democrat proposals to scrap a controversial multi-million pound Waste Transfer Station in Nelson.

At the council's budget meeting, Liberal councillors successfully proposed investing in a Empty Homes initiative; energy saving at sport and leisure centres; and public realm improvements in town centres (Barnoldswick, Brierfield and Earby), instead of spending over £2 million on the transfer station.

The Liberal group stopped Conservative cuts to street cleansing. The Tories wanted to cut two mechanical sweepers, reducing cleaning in many parts of Pendle, but with Nelson getting extra resources. 

The Conservatives also wanted to charge for bulky household waste collections and lost bins. They wanted to bring back a profit-driven private enforcement company to issue fines. Previously, the arrangement had resulted in ‘easy pickings’, such as dogs off lead, being targeted, with no improvement in littering or dog fouling. The Liberal group defeated these changes.

A Liberal Democrat proposal to re-wild Marsden Park Golf Course was lost. The course is set to close, and future use of the land is uncertain. A feasibility study into building a crematorium was also voted down, with a majority of councillors continuing to back spending millions on a large new cemetery in Nelson.