The man responsible for the county’s waste collection service has stated categorically: there are NO plans to close a single civic amenity centre in the county.

His declaration comes after a document came to light that suggested Essex County Council was considering closing some sites, including Witham’s, and replacing them with fewer ‘super dumps’.

But Roger Walters, the county’s cabinet member for waste and recycling, says the document was merely for discussion purposes – a ‘what if and maybe’ report outlining proposals if money were no object.

And he said the paperwork was years out of date.

Mr Walters said: “At the moment we have 24 civic amenity sites. We are looking at them, but no more than we look at anything we are doing.

“For example, we look at children's services. We are looking at the process and the efficiency and the best way of doing everything.

“With these sites, the best way of doing everything could be that we still have 24 sites.

“There are no plans to close any sites. There has been no plan to close sites."