IN a council budget rife with cuts, there was a note of joy being sounded by campaigners in Buckie with the news that the Gollachy recycling centre had been spared the axe. Last Wednesday saw a programme of cuts worth £15 million passed by councillors in a bid to balance the books for the coming financial year, but there was a sigh of relief from two local community councils – Buckie and District and Lennox – whose petition to save the facility attracted in the region of 3000 signatures in a short period of time. Lennox Community Council chairman Colin Hanover told the Advertiser: “It’s a victory for the community and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who signed the petition.
“To get around 3000 signatures in such a short space of time was a remarkable reaction. Hopefully it gave the council something to think about and I’m delighted that they listened. “It has given us time to come up with ideas for Gollachy – the councillors said they were looking for suggestions. One idea would be to install a barrier and charge people dumping domestic waste £1 a time to help with the running costs of the dump.
“I think the public would take to something like this rather than have Gollachy close and an increase in fly-tipping.” Steve Thornton, who chairs Buckie and District Community Council, praised the community spirit shown in the defence of the centre. “It’s fantastic news that Gollachy has been saved,” he said. “To get nigh on 3000 signatures in a very short time is a testament to the community spirit.” The news was welcomed by local councillors Sonya Warren, Tim Eagle and Gordon Cowie. Councillor Warren (Buckie – SNP), who had called for the
community to rally round and find a way to keep the recycling centre open, spoke of her delight at the news the facility was safe. “I’m very pleased to see that
the closure of Gollachy has been taken off the table for the forthcoming financial year,” she said. “It was also great to see how much value the community place on this and other services provided by the council. “This has been one of the hardest budgets ever in the council’s history. A budget deficit of over £15 million this year meant that many services were asked for savings proposals, with many unpalatable options being put forward. “The council had to prioritise and try to protect as many services as possible.”
Councillor Eagle (Buckie – Conservative) said it was time to consider the options going forward. He said: “It is great to see the reversal of this decision. “The department had not
had time to consider a full range of options for this recycling centre and with the withdrawal
of the decision to close the site we can now look at options for moving forward and once we know more about the landfill ban in 2021. “I cannot thank the community enough for their letters and emails about this, it is their voice which has helped reverse the decision.” Councillor Cowie (Buckie – Independent) hailed the victory of people power. “It’s great to see public pressure paying off like this – Gollachy is a very busy unit and would be a big miss to the town,” he added.