Green Party campaigner criticises Ilkley MP over sale of former tip

Ilkley and Addingham Green Party campaigner Ros Brown has criticised Mr Moore, accusing him of failing to be transparent with residents about the future of the former Golden Butts Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

Ms Brown claims Land Registry documents show the Golden Butts HWRC and adjoining former abattoir site were sold to local housing developer Chartford Developments Ltd for £1.5 million on March 20, 2026. She says the MP did not make this clear to residents in recent communications.

She said: “According to Land Registry documents the former Golden Butts HWRC and abattoir sites were sold to local housing developer Chartford Developments Ltd for £1.5m on 20th March 2026. Yet on Robbie Moore’s Facebook page last week he failed to be upfront with residents about this fact until challenged. The Golden Butts Household Waste Recycling Centre cannot now be re-opened, to say so is simply untrue."

Addressing claims made during the recent local elections, Ms Brown added: “Contrary to misinformation spread at the time, Green Party councillors did not vote to close the Golden Butts HWRC. This is why I and Green Party colleagues have been calling on Bradford Council to explore new options for bringing back a waste recycling service for the residents of Ilkley and Addingham.”

Ms Brown, a former deputy mayor of Ilkley Town Council and chair of the Ilkley Neighbourhood Development Plan (INDP) working group, also raised concerns about the future use of the site.

She said: “Ilkley does not need luxury housing on this site. The need for properly affordable and adaptable housing for local people has been a longstanding priority for many residents.”

She highlighted a shortage of suitable homes for people with mobility needs or those looking to downsize, adding: “Over the years we have also seen the demise of too many bungalows meaning local housing stock cannot be adapted for people who may be disabled, face mobility challenges or are downsizing.”

Ms Brown said these priorities were reflected in the INDP, which was approved in a local referendum.

She also suggested higher-density housing in keeping with the area’s terraced character could help reduce pressure on green belt land.

“In keeping with the agreed INDP policies, the density of housing on this site could also be maximised to fit in with the terraced character of the existing housing in this area," she said. "This could also serve to reduce future housing numbers required by Bradford Council or central government and help protect our local Green Belt from unwanted development. This is especially important as we await the publication of the government’s new national planning policy framework this summer and a revised Local Plan and housing numbers from Bradford Council."

Looking ahead, she added: “I hope Chartford Developments Ltd will be open to providing properly affordable and adaptable housing on this site that local people need. I also hope our MP will be upfront with residents about the future of this site instead of promoting unrealistic options for his own gain.”

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore (Image: submitted)

Responding, Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore said the closure of the HWRC was the responsibility of the Labour-led Bradford Council and described it as a “disastrous decision”.

He said: “Labour’s decision to close the Golden Butts Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Ilkley was one of a catalogue of disastrous decisions which still is causing huge inconvenience to many residents across Ilkley, Ben Rhydding, Addingham and the wider Wharfe Valley corridor.

“This decision should never have been made and I will continue to call on the new leadership at the Council to get our tips open again.”

Mr Moore said it had been widely known the council intended to sell the site and reiterated his call for an alternative location.

“It has been no secret that Bradford Council ploughed on to get the Golden Butts site sold off, but it is not rocket science for an alternative site to be explored, as I have been calling for,” he said.

He also criticised Ms Brown’s record as a former councillor, referencing a 20mph speed limit scheme introduced in Ilkley.

"If Ros Brown had spent more time focusing on this important issue when she was a Councillor representing Ilkley, rather than backing Labour to roll out a blanket 20mph zone with multiple speed humps across the town at a cost of nearly £200,000 to the taxpayer, we might have had more of a chance of saving the Ilkley Tip in the first place," he said.

"Instead, Ms Brown chose to spend her elected time forcing a road speed scheme through which the vast majority of the town specifically voted against."