Suffolk County Council is continuing to look to opening Newmarket's waste recycling facility despite the collapse of Suffolk's county deal.
The Newmarket recycling facility in Depot Road closed six years ago when permit holders, Newmarket Open Door, ceased operations.
The county council announcement comes in the wake of the devolution deal, also known as the County Deal, not being pursued by the new Labour government.
Suffolk County Council said the government's decision last week has made it "very difficult indeed".
The devolution deal was an offer from the government for Suffolk to receive £16million a year for 30 years, totalling £480m over the length of the deal.
Suffolk would have seen more local decision-making powers in housing, transport, adult education and regeneration.
Councillor Chris Chambers, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for transport, strategy, planning and waste, said: “We have always had the ambition to find a solution for a recycling centre for Newmarket’s residents.
"We have been working together with West Suffolk Council on this for some time.
"However, one of the main avenues open to us as a county council was the use of funds attached to Suffolk’s County Deal. That opportunity has now been wrenched from us, and from Newmarket residents, by the government.
“This is a big setback, and whilst the county council will continue to try and explore options with Newmarket Open Door to retain the Environmental Permit, which is needed to operate a recycling centre, the government’s decision last week has made those efforts very difficult indeed."
Mr Chambers also hit out at West Suffolk Council leader Cliff Waterman for encouraging the government to scrap the deal.
He added: “What is even more disappointing is that Cllr Waterman personally led the efforts of district and borough councils against the County Deal by orchestrating a letter to Government urging them to bin it, abandoning all the progress made, and throwing away the half-a-billion pounds worth of investment that the deal would have brought to the whole of Suffolk, including Newmarket.
“This is part of a growing theme of the new government letting Suffolk residents down.
"West Suffolk Council pulled out of our joint legal challenge to the Sunnica Solar Farm, while the government has cut Winter Fuel Payments to tens of thousands of Suffolk pensioners and now stopped £500m investment in our county.”
Cllr Cliff Waterman said: “I and the other district and borough leaders in Suffolk asked for a more ambitious devolution deal than that offered under the previous Government. The county keeps quoting £500m as a lump sum without mentioning that it is spread over 30 years.
"Like the other district and borough councils in Suffolk, I believe we can and should negotiate a better devolution deal that brings more money and greater benefits to the people of Suffolk that we represent. This stands the best chance of success if all councils work together.
"If the Suffolk County Council’s leaders believe that the County Deal was such a great opportunity, perhaps the question is why they have chosen not to ratify and deliver the benefits more quickly.
"West Suffolk has been asking SCC, which is the authority responsible for recycling centres, for some time about taking on the Newmarket recycling centre site.
"Although the press release feels like they are already making their excuses, we would genuinely prefer to work with them so that county can retain the option to one day reopen the redundant recycling centre site to benefit the people of Newmarket and the surrounding area and better support recycling to the benefit of our environment.
"Rather than sensibly engaging with partner Councils the Leadership of SCC has chosen to play ‘yah-boo’ politics. Shouting loudly rarely achieves much.
"I’d rather they engaged positively so that we can work together. My door remains open and I look forward to resuming cooperative working.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here