COUNCILLORS have dumped plans to create a replacement recycling centre.

West Oxfordshire District Council had hoped to convert its former depot Greystones, near Chipping Norton, to replace Dean Pit, which was closed by Oxfordshire County Council in 2011 to cut costs.

The £190,000 project had been delayed by negotiations over a strip of land, owned by Chipping Norton Town Council, needed to improve access to the site.

But now the district says a fall in the cost of recycling material means the centre, originally expected to turn an annual profit of £742, would run at a loss of £43,000 a year.

District council cabinet members voted to scrap the plan, “with regret”, and to consider the future use of the site at a meeting on Wednesday.

Cabinet member for resources Simon Hoare said: “We were trying to deliver a public service and the town council was trying to increase a revenue stream.

“It was always going to be a marginal business case but it became unviable with the final set of terms set out by the town council.”

He said the price of recycling material “made a bad situation worse”, adding, “if we were to proceed it would effectively be the signing of a blank cheque.

“In all consciousness I could not support that.”

Chipping Norton Town Council member Mike Tysoe said: “We are, and always have been, in favour of a recycling centre at Greystones for the benefit of Chipping Norton and surrounding communities, and our offer is still on the table for your consideration.

“However, to quote a certain lady, we are not for turning.”

The negotiations began in July. The town hoped to lease the strip of land for £15,000 a year, but the district offered a peppercorn rent.

By December, the town wanted a £5,000-a-year lease, free for two years, and 35 per cent of the turnover if it exceeded £130,000 a year. The district wanted to buy the land for £10,000, which the town rejected.

Councillor Henry Howard, member for Carterton North East, said: “We have to be responsible. It just does not stack up to critical analysis.”

District councillor Neil Owen, member for Chadlington and Churchill, called for the “tainted” negotiations to resume under a new district team.