HUMAN rights legislation may be invoked to force Bridport’s tip to open fully at the weekends.

Bridport Town Council is looking into whether it can mount a challenge to overturn Dorset County Council’s rules which limit weekend opening to Saturdays for garden waste only.

Members of the town council’s environment and wellbeing committee heard how the South Street dump was scaled down at the weekend after a householder complained that it was violating their human rights because of the noise.

The town council is to ask the county council to reconsider the hours but is also set to research a case based on the argument that the limits are breaching the human rights of everyone else.

Committee chairman Ros Kayes said: “I feel very strongly about this.

“I understand that they altered the opening hours because of the impact on the human rights of a resident who threatened to take them to court.

“What about our human rights?

“The human rights of people in Bridport are being restricted.”

Councillors said most working people only had the chance to use the tip on a weekend and that most only had their garden waste together by the end of the day.

They also warned that flytipping was on the increase, with some debris already being dumped in Bradpole recently.

Coun Eddie Colfox said: “It is ludicrous. The weekends are when most people are going to use it.”

Coun Maggie Ray added: “It is all about money. If they shut it on a Sunday, they don’t have to pay double time.”

Coun David Rickard pointed out in defence of the resident that it was noisy at times and everyone had the right to some sort of peace and privacy but that didn’t explain why the tip was closed for general rubbish.

Town clerk Bob Gillis said the council could research the human rights stance but stressed that it didn’t mean the council would become embroiled in a costly court case.

Dorset Waste Partnership director Steve Burdis said people had got used to the tip hours, denied that flytipping had increased and thanked residents for their co-operation in a difficult situation.

He added: “We accept that the reduced weekend service is not ideal and we fully appreciate that some residents are not happy.

“However, they were necessary to save the town from losing the recycling facility altogether, and planning permission was only granted for a further two years on the provision that these changes were implemented.”

He added that the council was committed to developing a purpose-built facility as soon as possible.