KEIGHLEY will be badly hit by cuts to Bradford Council’s street-cleaning teams, fears a local councillor.

Councillor Khadim Hussain believes his Keighley Central ward will be particularly affected by the 25 per cent budget reduction to the Cleansing Service.

Cllr Hussain, a former Lord Mayor of Bradford and Keighley Area Committee chairman, this week claimed the cuts would exacerbate existing problems.

He said these included drain blockages that in previous years had flooded North Street, and fly tipping hotspots in neighbourhoods such as Lawkholme.

Cllr Hussain spoke after the council announced the merger of its Parks and Green Spaces Service and Cleansing Service to save around £1 million a year.

Area committees across the district were recently told that the reduction would mean a significant redesign of the combined department’s management, but could create a more efficient, resilient and flexible workforce.

The Street Cleansing service will have 130 full-time equivalent staff, following the loss of 25 frontline staff and a reduction from 16 to 11 mechanical sweepers.

The combined department’s 63 wardens will be split into two distinct roles, one for civil enforcement and the other for environmental enforcement and dealing with the public.

The announcement of the cuts coincided with a decision last month by 3GS, the company responsible for issuing litter fines across the district, to pull out of its contract because it was “not profitable enough”. The role of litter enforcement on local streets will in future be carried out by Bradford Council officers.

Cllr Hussain said the “massive” cuts would create equally massive problems in Keighley.

He said: “The blame lies with Central Government that is cutting the council budget, but the council could have handled it better. They should have looked at ways of protecting this key frontline service.

“The roads are not cleaned enough as it is, and leaves are blocking the gulleys. When the gulleys have been blocked in the past, North Street has flooded and been impassable. Lack of cleansing will have an impact on that.

“Fly-tipping is already a huge problem, and is rearing its ugly head in Keighley Central ward. There’s not enough enforcement, and even with enforcement people are still fly-tipping.”

Cllr Hussain suggested less cleansing staff would mean fly-tipped rubbish remaining on public view for longer, encouraging more people to dump rubbish at the same sites.

He also feared there would be an effect on gritting across Keighley, because the same council staff carry out such work during snowy and icy weather.