WHEELIE bins are definitely on their way to Malvern after a bid to re-open the controversial subject for more discussion failed.

Malvern Hills District Council has already spent £1.2 million of a government grant purchasing wheelie bins and making adjustment to its fleet of lorries, ahead of rolling out its new recycling arrangements in May.

But some councillors did not believe they had ever formally voted to implement the new system and tabled a motion Tuesday evening’s full council meeting calling for more debate and a chance to decide on the scheme.

However after more than an hour of often heated debate the motion failed, by a narrow margin of 14 votes to 17. Four councillors abstained and did not take part in the vote.

Council leader David Hughes said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote.

“There is no question now that everybody understands what the motions have been saying and what the council’s position is,” he said. “It is unfortunate if some members did not feel that they were kept fully informed because that was not the intention of the council.”

But Coun Anthony Warburton, who led the calls for the wheelie bin debate to be re-opened, said: “It seems that the council has a narrow majority of councillors who either prefer that decisions on controversial matters are made behind closed doors or who are indifferent to the public's interest and concern.”

He said the narrow outcome of the vote “proved the need for the public debate of the matter”, adding: “There may not have been a formal vote on the matter proper but this vote will serve as a surrogate for one.”