The Leader of Hampshire County Council has praised the "vital" role that Havant Constituency MP Alan Mak played in saving Hayling tip.
On a visit to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Fishery Lane, Cllr Nick Adams-King paid tribute to the hard work of Mr Mak and Hayling County Councillor Lance Quantrill as they successfully campaigned to keep the tip open.
The County Council had originally proposed closure of the tip and 11 others in the county.
But Mr Mak and Cllr Quantrill fought to make residents' views heard and as a result County Council Cabinet members voted to save the tip and keep its existing opening times.
Cllr Adams-King said: "Alan has played a vital role in keeping Hayling tip open from Day 1. He has met me several times, made a formal submission to the public consultation, and he worked hard on this issue with Cllr Quantrill, whose own efforts played a significant role in ensuring residents' views were known."
He added that, in contrast, Cllr Adams-King said Hayling East’s Labour Borough Councillor Mark Coates had failed to submit a petition in time.
"Cllr Coates chose to submit his petition in late May, some two months after the end of the consultation, thereby missing the opportunity for his contribution to be considered.
"It was therefore enormously helpful that Alan and Cllr Quantrill had ensured Hayling residents’ views had been well and effectively represented within the necessary time frame."
Cllr Quantrill also highlighted Mr Mak's work on this issue.
He said: "It was early in 2023 that Alan alerted me to legislation travelling through Parliament for mandatory acceptance of household waste at recycling centres without charge.
"When Council officers forecasted that this would add £1.2m to Hampshire County Council's costs, both Alan and I could see how this would put pressure on poorly-performing recycling centres”.
"To ensure that the then relevant Cabinet member at Winchester, Cllr Adams-King, understood the unique value of Hayling's HWRC, we invited him to visit and he did so in summer 2023."
Cllr Quantrill added: "Alan has worked closely with me on this issue from well before the public consultation began in January and together we've succeeded in getting the voice of residents heard at the county council in Winchester."
Mr Mak said: "I'm grateful to Cllr Adams-King for pointing out that the work myself and Cllr Quantrill did was key to keeping Hayling tip open, including our meetings and formal submissions to the decision-making process.
"Labour has been playing political games by accusing me and/or Cllr Quantrill of not being involved.
"But it has now come to light that the Labour councillor’s submission was several months late and so was not able to even be considered.
"Our contribution on behalf of residents was much more effective and I'm delighted that we won the day and the tip was saved."
He added: "Rest assured myself and Cllr Quantrill will continue to work hard for the people of Hayling."
