A MOVE to open Wiltshire’s recycling centres by an extra hour a day was rejected on Tuesday – but plans to open Salisbury’s tip an extra day a week were confirmed.

At a Wiltshire Council meeting in Trowbridge, opposition leader Glenis Ansell proposed that all recycling centres open from 9am, instead of 10am.

But Conservative councillors said it was not “good value for money” and the centres were hardly used towards the end of the day.

Wiltshire Council slashed the hours at its recycling centres and shut them two days a week in June 2015 in a bid to save £300,000 a year.

But after fly-tipping increased and recycling dropped, the council proposed opening those in Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham for one extra day a week. These changes were confirmed at the meeting.

Cllr Richard Clewer said he was regularly at the tip in Salisbury, and it was “not well used”.

And councillor in charge of highways and transport Phillip Whitehead agreed and said “not once have I queued for the tip”.

He said: “It is empty at the end of the day, and moving the hours from 10am to 9am will just make congestion at the roads worse.”

Cllr John Walsh said he was pleased to see that the Conservatives had “realised their mistake” by opening the centres for an extra day.

He said: “There is a great demand for longer hours, and in Salisbury we have had difficulties with traffic all the way down to the site.

“We have always had a problem, and from Salisbury’s point of view we need to be open the whole time.”

Cllr Walsh said that the tip on Churchfields was originally open until 8pm, and was much easier for the city’s residents.

Till and Wylye Valley member Cllr Ian West said there had been an increase in rubbish on lay-bys in his ward since the dump opening hours had been reduced.