Nine of Cornwall’s 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are likely to no longer open seven days a week anymore in a bid by Cornwall Council to save £200,000 a year. The council’s ruling cabinet has recommended the decision as part of £48.7-million of savings it needs to make in its 2025/26 budget.

A meeting of the council’s Conservative cabinet heard yesterday (Wednesday, February 12) that tears had been shed by both officers and councillors when it came to making difficult cost-cutting decisions, including successful services to protect children in the Duchy. The final decisions will be made by full council.

One of the recommendations has been to reduce the opening hours at recycling centres. Bodmin, Bude, Connon Bridge (near Liskeard), Helston, Newquay, Redruth (Pool), St Day (United Downs), Tintage (Bowithick) and Truro would see their opening hours reduced from seven days a week to five days.

Centres at Launceston, Saltash, St Austell, Falmouth and St Erth will “initially” remain open seven days a week “but subject to further modelling and future consideration”. All HWRCs would still open at weekends. The news comes after a booking system was introduced at a number of the HWRCs, a move which has proved unpopular with some residents.

The cabinet agreed to recommend setting a £840-million budget, which includes a council tax requirement of £441.379-million – council tax would rise by 4.99 per cent for the third year running. The council, which is £1.3-billion in debt, has had to make £48.7-million in cuts in order to stop it getting into even more dire financial straits.

Among the areas recommended to be cut are a service which supports children who have experienced sexual abuse / exploitation online and a role to protect children from criminal and sexual exploitation. Other services which are facing likely cutbacks – pending full council approval – include winter gritting of Cornwall’s roads and Community Chest grants to local organisations.

Council leader Linda Taylor said there had been a lot of tears and heartache among both officers and councillors when it came to making tough decisions in the budget.

Independent councillor Mike Thomas pointed out that cuts were being recommended to household waste and recycling centre times, the adolescent intervention service, an independent sexual violence advisor, a missing children and exploitation officer and the “well-known and much appreciated” handypersons service.

He asked what assessment had been made for reputational damage to Cornwall Council for the loss of “these highly important areas within the council service”. Cllr Taylor responded that every decision or proposition had been made on a clear business case and whether it was a statutory requirement.

The member for children and families, Barbara Ellenbroek – who, the meeting heard, had cried about some of the cuts that had to be made within her portfolio – added: “This is the hardest thing to do for any of us and we’re all passionate about the work we do and we also know the implications this has on those who work for the council as officers delivering these services. Nobody wants to take anything away, but this is where we are.”

Earlier in the meeting, deputy leader David Harris made a no holds barred attack on Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour government for putting Cornwall Council in a worse financial position than it was before they came to power.