Councillors have rejected a request to give their backing to plans to close a dozen tips across Hampshire.

Twelve household waste recycling centres (HWRCs), including those in Casbrook (Romsey), Hedge End, Marchwood, Bishops Waltham and Fair Oak, would be closed in huge savings plans laid out by bosses at Hampshire County Council.

But in a meeting where a select committee of councillors were recommended to agree with plans to close the tips, members instead criticised the hugely unpopular proposal and voted unanimously to recommend the council's executive consider alternative to keep them open.

Speaking about the closure of the Casbrook tip in the Romsey area, Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Cooper said that despite being a small site, it is very popular, and with the closure, Romsey residents would face a 10-mile round trip to their next nearest tip.

READ MORE: Romsey residents say closing tip would be 'disastrous'

He added the extra carbon emissions from those journeys would not help the council achieve carbon neutrality.

Conservative councillor for Church Crookham and Ewshot, Stephen Parker, said: "My views are on reading the report it hadn't been properly concluded.

"The value of the HWRCs well exceeds the price that we pay for it."

Liberal Democrat Cllr Malcolm Wade referenced the "uniqueness" of the New Forest National Park and its vulnerability to increased fly-tippers, also citing "the increasing amount of driving and the increasing amount of carbon we are asking our residents to put in the environment".

"We have declared a climate emergency, this is not consistent with getting people out of cars," the representative for Dibden and Hythe continued.

READ MORE: New Forest campaign to save tips

Hampshire County Council officers confirmed that other initiatives to generate income at tips will not be pursued as the general public “wouldn’t use them anyway”.

These could have included extra charges for discretionary services and, in particular, charges to book premium services.

The tip network in Hampshire is the largest in England, with 24 sites of different sizes. It costs more than £10 million per year to operate.

Other HWRCs that would close under the plans, which aims to save £1.6 million, are Aldershot, Bordon, Petersfield, Somerley, Hartley Wintney and Hayling Island.

Only eight per cent of more than 10,000 respondents supported the plans.

Cllr Kirsty North, lead member for universal services, said "difficult decisions" were needed on public services, and cabinet would "reflect fully" on the views of councillors and members of the public.

Cabinet are due to make a final decision on October 14.