News

Somerset proposes closing two recycling sites

 

Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is consulting on proposed plans to close two of Somerset’s four community recycling sites (CRSs).

The plan, proposed by SWP’s governing board last week, could see the CRSs at Coleford and Middlezoy closed as part of efforts to meet savings targets required by Somerset County Council.

Closure details

Under the county council’s medium-term financial plan, SWP will have £711,900 less funding in 2014/2015, and total of £2,287,900 less over the next four years.

SWP’s board met last week to discuss details of how waste services could continue to run with reduced funding, with a spokesperson for the partnership telling Resource that there were ‘lots of options on the table’.

However, it was decided that the proposed course of action should be two close Coleford and Middlezoy CRSs and extend the opening hours at other recycling sites to compensate.

This is the second time that the two sites have been considered for closure, after the council consulted on similar proposals in 2011. However, following calls from local communities to avoid closures, entry fees of £2 per visit were introduced at the ‘smaller, less used’ sites.

Since then, SWP says that visitor numbers have declined.

If the plans to close Coleford and Middlezoy’s CRSs are approved, SWP says it would affect around 850 visitors who visit each of the sites every month. However, the partnership added that these account for less than two per cent of all recycling site visits.

Money saved could be used to extend opening hours

To balance the closures, SWP is also consulting on extending opening hours at one or more of the busiest sites in each district, such as Bridgwater Saltlands, Frome, Minehead, Taunton Priorswood, and Yeovil. These are currently open five days, 40-hours a week.

The partnership says that extending opening times to seven days a week could ‘benefit tens of thousands of residents’ as it would be ‘likely to improve recycling levels and contribute to all councils’ efforts to continue driving down the already falling rate of fly-tipping’.

It added that ‘part of the money’ saved from closing Coleford and Middlezoy would be used to fund the extended opening hours.

SWP will be advising local representatives and those visiting the affected sites on the proposals before the New Year, and expects to publish further information on its website and via leaflet drops in the coming week.

Members of the public have until February to comment, after which a final decision will be made by the Somerset Waste Board on 21 February.

If the plan is agreed by the 12 board members – two councillors from each of the county and district councils – the changes will be introduced from 1 April 2014.

‘Not easy decisions’

Somerset Waste Partnership Managing Director Steve Read said: “These are not easy decisions, but SWP has to live within the budget its partners contribute, and users of Coleford and Middlezoy would have a choice of alternatives within a few miles.

“We appreciate this may, if agreed, cause some inconvenience to the committed recyclers of Coleford and Middlezoy. We hope they will be able to use one of the next most convenient sites, one of which in each district will be open extra hours as well as continuing to be free to use.

“Meanwhile, an expansion of days and hours at five or more sites could only help improve recycling and cut fly-tipping further.”

Anyone who wishes to comment about either of the proposed closures, should write to:

Somerset Waste Partnership
Monmouth House
Blackbrook Park Avenue
Taunton
TA1 2PX

Alternatively, interested parties can email SWP with the subject line ‘Proposed closure Coleford’ or ‘Proposed closure Middlezoy’.

Read more about the Somerset Waste Partnership.