Two Conservative councillors have joined the growing clamour of protest at the potential closure of Tovil tip.

Tory Cllrs Stanley Forecast and Tom Cannon have written to Kent County Council (KCC) outlining their concerns.

Both presented their letters in person to cabinet member Susan Carey (Con), who has responsibility for the environment, at Maidstone County Hall last week.

KCC officers had earlier presented the council with options to save £1.1m from the waste budget.They included the closure of four waste recycing centres from the 19 across Kent, and a reduction in opening hours at the others.

The Tovil recycling centre in Burial Ground Lane was on the list for potential closure, although when KCC’s environment committee met on Tuesday, May 23, they instead elected to review the proposals via a working group before then putting their proposal out to a 12-week public consultation.

Cllr Forecast, who represents Allington ward at Maidstone council, described Tovil as an “excellent facility”.

He said that closing it would force all tip-users from the south of Maidstone to journey either through the congested town centre, or out along the equally congested Hermitage Lane to access the nearsest alternative site at Alllington.

“We need to keep in mind that Allington will see its own growing number of service-users in the next five to 10 years with housing growth, and we need to keep Tovil to serve its own catchment area,” he added.

Cllr Cannon, who represents Maidstone Central Division at KCC, was also concerned about the effect on traffic.

He said: “Tovil is an ideal location for residents from the South of Maidstone, Loose, Farleigh, Coxheath and the extensive surrounding rural areas. This is good for residents in terms of KCC's service offer. However it also is very important in terms of traffic and congestion.

“My division of Maidstone Central has huge challenges with congestion and traffic flow.

If Tovil were closed, it would add significant amounts of traffic to areas already under great pressure

“If Tovil were closed, it would add significant amounts of traffic to areas already under great pressure.

He reminded the cabinet member that “We (the Conservatives) stood in 2021 on ‘infrastructure-first’ and while this was focused on roads, I have no doubt that good waste infrastructure is also important.

“We must take into account how Maidstone is growing and the location of the recycling centres in relation to this growth. It is our duty to do this.“

“The local catchment of the Allington facility is already growing exponentially before any changes at Tovil.

“Indeed Hermitage Lane is due more housing as is Aylesford and the London Road corridor. Just one proposed development plan on a 500-acre site off Hermitage Lane will produce 1,600 homes.

“We simply need to keep Tovil in tip top condition and open in full. I therefore urge you to keep Tovil open and look at the strategic importance of Tovil for a growing Maidstone.”

Elsewhere, in Dartford, Council Leader Jeremy Kite launched his bid to keep the local rubbish tip open, as it is the only one in the entire borough.

He said: “I’m surprised by the response to it. It’s gone up to 1,500 in just slightly more than 24 hours. I think this shows the depth of support for the waste recycling centre at Dartford.”