Hundreds of people say they use a recycling centre which is threatened with closure because of low footfall.

Cambridgeshire County Council is considering the future of its nine household recycling sites as it looks to make £149 million in budget savings over the next five years.

Whittlesey, alongside St Neots and Thriplow, has the lowest footfall. However, the result of a public consultation paints a different picture.

Out of 2,207 respondents, 497 (22 per cent) said they use the Whittlesey site. In comparison, Wisbech is used by 150 people (seven per cent) and March is used by 114 people (five per cent).

Thirteen per cent of respondents (279) use household recycling centres on a weekly basis, while 70 per cent use it monthly.

The centres are most often visited at weekends (37 per cent on Saturdays and 23 per cent on Sundays). Only five per cent of visits were on Thursdays and Fridays.

Respondents were asked to have their say on cost cutting proposals, which include reducing sites’ weekday opening hours and opening days or charging for certain types of waste such as hardcore and plasterboard.

Only one per cent agreed with closing one of the centres. However, half were in favour of each site being closed for two weekdays, as long as the nearest other one was open.

Twenty-eight per cent approved of keeping all nine centres open but with reduced hours.

Charging to get rid of soil, hardcore or plasterboard was supported by 11 per cent.

Forty-nine per cent were in favour of a permit scheme to limit larger vehicles and trailers.