A call has been made for a Cumbrian council to answer questions over failings in waste collection in South Cumbria.
Nineteen members of Westmorland & Furness Council’s Furness Locality Board have written to Giles Archibald, cabinet member for climate, biodiversity and environmental services, following a meeting on Wednesday night.
They said they were writing to express their deep concern, on behalf of residents and businesses, over the festive waste and recycling collections in the Furness area.
The councillors, who unanimously agreed to send the letter, said they were working tirelessly to promote the area in support of the Team Barrow vision.
But, their letter said: “Our efforts are continually undermined by the persistent and well-documented failings of your department.”
The councillors claimed that inconsistent, changing and often unclear communications issued by the council left residents uncertain about collection dates.
They said residents had been left distressed.
It said the most recent issues were:
- A gap of around a week-and-a-half with no waste collection during the festive period, when household waste volumes are at their peak
- A further gap of similar length after new year before normal service resumes
- Many households experiencing a month or more without any recycling collection whatsoever
- Overspill of missed waste collection littering the streets
- The poor service coinciding with the added removal of public bins from several wards, including but not limited to Dalton North, Dalton South, Newbarns & Hawcoat, and Central wards;
- Communications that were inconsistent and misleading, leaving both members and the residents we represent appearing uninformed and lacking credibility;
- A continuation of issues that have become chronic and enduring throughout the time from which the council vested, which then came to a head over the Christmas period.
The letter added that official responses from the senior leadership team were slow to arrive, and the responses suggested that frontline workers declined to work additional hours.
The councillors said they believed accountability for the service failure lay squarely with Coun Archibald as cabinet member and the senior leadership team.
The letter added: “In early 2025, your assistant director assured us that lessons had been learned and that improvements were forthcoming.
“One year on, the situation has worsened. Meanwhile, the A590 – our main gateway to Furness – continues to be routinely neglected by you and your senior leadership team. It is blighted by litter, despite repeated and consistent requests from members for action to be taken.
“Westmorland and Furness Council aspires to be a great place to live, work and thrive, with an emphasis on community well-being, sustainability, and meaningful local engagement. Recent performance in waste management has fallen short in each of these areas.
“In the spirit of collaboration, you will have our full support in delivering a waste and recycling collection service that reliably meets the needs of residents across Furness.
“Hard-working residents are not asking for much. Every year they are required to pay an additional 5% on their council tax, yet even the most basic statutory services are not being delivered consistently.”
The letter asked:
- Why have these extended gaps in service occurred?
- What contingency plans, if any, were considered to avoid this disruption?
- What measures will be taken to prevent a repeat of these issues?
- What is the return to green plan for restoring the service to an acceptable and reliable standard?
- Who is being held accountable for this debacle, and chronic underperformance?
It said Tony Callister, chair of the Furness Locality Board, and its members intended to raise the issue at the next meeting of full council on January 22.
A spokesman for Westmorland & Furness Council said: “We understand the frustration felt by local members and residents in Furness.
“The level of service provided over the Christmas period did not meet the standards we aim to provide and we are working hard to ensure this does not happen again.
“We recognise that apologies alone cannot resolve the situation and are committed to learning from this experience to ensure we deliver a high‑quality and reliable waste and recycling service for our residents.
“We have been investigating the recent waste collection performance issues to understand the causes and identify the changes needed.
“This aligns with the wider improvements being delivered through the Westmorland and Furness waste harmonisation programme.
“One of the main aims of the harmonisation programme is to provide consistency of service and approaches across all areas, that will not only drive improvements and efficiencies in service delivery but also allow us to be more resilient when faced with the sort of challenges experienced in Furness this Christmas.
“A lessons‑learned review is underway to strengthen our resilience during holiday periods, focusing on staffing arrangements and ensuring that accurate service information is available at the earliest opportunity. This will support clear, timely communication of any future changes, particularly around bank holidays.
“We acknowledge that late changes in operational availability caused disruption at a time when households generate more waste, and we appreciate the difficulties and inconvenience this created.
“Residual waste collections were fully caught up by the end of last week, including excess waste, and recycling collections have been taking place this week, with crews also collecting any excess recycling.
“Street cleansing teams have also been working in affected areas, including back alleys, to remove accumulated waste and minimise the risk of vermin. Mechanical sweepers have been deployed where possible, and litter bins continue to be emptied regularly.
“We remain sorry that our service fell short of expectations and we are taking clear steps to strengthen our operations, communication and resilience so that residents can have confidence in the service moving forward.”
