Recycling bins to be removed at Spendlove site.

Sun 22 Nov 2020, 15:46

New posting on the Debate page about the Spendlove site issue.

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 22:49

1. Thank you, Christine. I’m very interested in this bizarre story. There is so much that doesn’t feel right to me about this....... I appreciate your comments here.

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 19:19 (last edited on Sat 21 Nov 2020, 19:25)

No, the Motor Museum does not involve taxpayers' money, and no it's also not at all like the motor museums at Gaydon or Coventry. Mullin (a billionaire) has an interest in vintage cars, especially ones built at the turn of the century. You can see what is on display at his Californian museum here: https://mullinautomotivemuseum.com/home/ The Enstone site will also include a track for "exercising" the cars, as well as some fancy lodges and residential pavilions.

I personally think that the planned museum is completely out of scale with the proposed site. But with the promise of huge outside funding & also jobs & sweeteners for locals, I can see why WODC found it so hard to turn it down. There is a good FT article about the issues here: https://www.ft.com/content/33387254-709b-11e8-92d3-6c13e5c92914

The plans were subsequently changed somewhat after the FT piece, but not by very much. You can see Norman Foster's plans for the site here: https://www.cladglobal.com/CLADnews/architecture-design/Plans-for-Mullin-UK-car-museum-get-the-go-ahead/342096?source=home&p=2

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 15:35

Geoff... it’s not that I haven't been to a motor museum, I have.

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 15:09

Yes. 
I’ve been to Gaydon 3 times. On two occasions with family/friends. 
And I’m not a “car person “. 
Like most museums it depends on the layout and facilities and information. One can learn a lot more than just about cars. 
I have no strong interest now, but it might be a great amenity for families. 
Would be great to see some plans and ideas. 
Academic, as the die is cast. 

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 14:57

Rosemary you obviously have never been to a motor museum as you would have a big problem finding rusty metal to gawp at.

I do wonder if the interest for this museum would be great as we have a very good one at  Gaydon not far from us

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 13:59 (last edited on Sat 21 Nov 2020, 14:03)

Maybe I am completely wrong about the funding in which case I apologise; to use a current phrase from one of our most revered politicians, it was “not intended”. 

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 12:56

I don't disagree with you Rosemary but I can't see where the assumption that taxpayers will foot the bill comes from.  Mr Mullins is described as a "Philanthropist" - so perhaps he will be paying for it?  I don't know.

Agree with Christine that it's likely, probably inevitably, going to generate more traffic through our town - but perhaps more business as well?  Again, I don't know.

Interesting reports from the Oxford Mail:

"Members were split between the tourism boost the museum would bring and its potential impact on nearby roads, but after three-and-a-half hours voted in favour by 12 votes to seven."

"Several members agreed, with Alex Postan, of Brize Norton and Shilton, claiming it would be ‘very unfair’ to deny Mr Mullin’s ‘philanthropic gesture’.

The development, next to Soho Farmhouse, would contribute £1.74m to community projects, including £1.25m towards affordable housing, which would be ring-fenced for Great Tew for 36 months.

Great Tew School would get £200,000 for a car park, with the same amount going to traffic calming measures in nearby villages and £50,000 to the Middle Barton Community Bus service.

Meanwhile, five per cent of profits from the museum would go towards community initiatives.

A proposal to refuse the application was lost by eight votes to 11."

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 11:57 (last edited on Sun 22 Nov 2020, 09:14)

[Edited, my original remarks were incorrect.]

We have a problem with the plans to remove the recycling bins and I believe we will still need local facilities. It needs some thought, and the planning department Cabinet doesn’t appear to have anything positive to say at this point. The recycling problems will be pushed back into the hands of the individual householder(s), some of whom will simply not be able to get to a remotely located public tip.

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 11:19

It's a shame, but I've seen myself vans unloading what is clearly commercial waste into the spendlove site.  The answer surely is CCTV to deter these people.  

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 09:57

Given that plans to turn Enstone Airport into a £130m Motor Museum, designed by Norman Foster & co, were approved by WODC in 2019, I doubt that plans to site a tip near or on the Airport site have a chance of getting off the ground. 

Indeed, who would want yet more traffic to Enstone in the circumstances? The estimated number of visitors to the Oxford Mullin Automotive Park is 200,000 per year, and it is projected to be open six days per week, with the associated 28 "residential lodges" also attracting an increase in traffic on Sundays. We will be drowning in the increased traffic, even without a new tip.

Good luck with identifying a new rubbish recycling site, Liz, and pushing forward with such a proposal. But the Enstone Airport site is surely off the cards.

Sat 21 Nov 2020, 08:46 (last edited on Sat 21 Nov 2020, 08:48)

Unfortunately, following a lot of work with officers, it was eventually decided that the Enstone Airport project would not go ahead because the new kerbside recycling was about to be introduced. The plan was to review whether a new site was needed once that had bedded in.  All attempts to revive it since then have so far failed but I don't give up easily! And it is a 30 mile round trip whether you go to Dix Pit or to Alkerton.

Fri 20 Nov 2020, 21:00

Whatever happened to the plan to establish a local recycling site at Enstone Airfield to replace Dean Tip? Did that proposal sink without trace when the Mullin Project was approved? There's nothing green about a 20 mile round trip to a recycling site and fly tipping is on the increase.

Fri 20 Nov 2020, 08:42 (last edited on Fri 20 Nov 2020, 08:44)

Thanks very much for the kind words! For information, WODC has now changed the rules of their online meetings to allow members of the public to make an address. So you could apply to speak at the next meeting in January where this item will be on the agenda.

Fri 20 Nov 2020, 08:26

Where is the logic in this decision?  Surely the answer is not to close the recycling facility due to it's annoying popularity, but to collect the material more regularly?  If there is evidence that some of the material is commercial waste, why not track down and prosecute this misuse rather than penalising those of us who do not have the room to store our recycling for two weeks?

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 22:04

If WODC was worried about the costs of people abusing the system, they would appoint (or replace) enforcement officers who gather evidence against flytippers.

Instead, they cut costs (disproportionately affecting those of us who live miles from Dix Pit) and will have to hire a bunch of enforcement officers to tackle the inevitable rise in flytipping.

Genius.

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 18:16

I agree, Tony!

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 17:49

I think we’re lucky to have a counsellor like Liz who represents Charlbury interests in difficult times

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 13:49 (last edited on Thu 19 Nov 2020, 13:51)

I also said at the meeting yesterday that taking the bins away could be sweetened by installing charging points in their place!

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 12:49

Rather exasperatingly WODC has (almost) simultaneously announced that it's installing electric charging points at several of its car parks… and Charlbury isn't one of them. You would have thought this would have been a golden opportunity to use the space currently occupied by the bring site.

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 12:26

It's not just the Charlbury site that is being closed down, but a total of 15 "bring" sites across the whole of the WODC area. This seems to me to be quite mad, and bound to lead to an increase in fly-tipping in rural spots. 

I'm not sure if that means that the clothing bins by the Co-op will also disappear, or if some of the supermarket sites in Witney will remain.  Does anyone know? 

At least in Charlbury we will still have the Fire Station clothing bins (I hope).

Unfortunately Warwickshire (inc. Shipston) has now closed its sites to non-Warwickshire residents. Dix Pit or Ardley Fields are now our nearest options.

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 10:59

Fly tippers do use the countryside when there isn't a very convenient place, without cameras, in town. Maybe the county council could consider investing in a proper recycling site, with cameras backed up with a system for remote surveillance. The vehicles would be identifiable as would the tippers.

Another issue at odds with this idea is that the farming communities everywhere have had to deal with rubbish on their land, for years.

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 09:39

It's been a mess.  Cardboard which could be folded up and put in the recycle bin at home isn't and people putting masses of bottles in when they could do that from home, ok it may take a couple of weeks or so due to the timetable.  I don't blame the Council.  It has been an eyesore and bedding and clothing strewn on the floor.The offices at The Spendlove Centre have business recycle bins, which are usually locked as the general public have been stuffing their recycle items in there as well.  

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 09:06

It is certainly the case that they have been misused by some, and there is evidence that some of the misuse is commercial waste.  Let's hope that this doesn't result in more fly-tipping outside the town.

Thu 19 Nov 2020, 08:01

It will be a shame if this facility is removed, but as Rosemary has stated, not unexpected.  I personally do not use the bins but do have the misfortune of walking past them going to the CO-OP.  They are an eyesore.  People use the bins (and surrounding area) as a rubbish tip.  You see quite regularly items dumped which are neither carboard or glass which I understand are the only items which should be placed here.  I have seen TV's, large pictures, polystyrene, wood, chairs etc.  If the bins are being misused, what other option do the council have other than to remove them? 

Wed 18 Nov 2020, 23:59

Kerbside recycling is fine if you live in a house with plenty of dedicated hard surfaced space around it and its own bin park. Not so clever if you have a cottage in a row of little cottages or a normal house in a row of houses. I agree Liz, the communal bins are necessary because not everyone has space for bins, and not all people drive, and in my opinion, shouldn’t be expected to.

Wed 18 Nov 2020, 21:22 (last edited on Wed 18 Nov 2020, 21:22)

The bins are being emptied five times a fortnight but are still full. Andy and I both argued for keeping them. The argument that they are no longer needed because we have kerbside recycling is clearly mistaken. We have seen recycling reduced from weekly to fortnightly which is probably the reason why people need the Spendlove for the things they cannot store and will not fit into their bins. And driving to and from Dix Pit is hardly consistent with having declared a climate emergency...

Wed 18 Nov 2020, 18:49 (last edited on Wed 18 Nov 2020, 19:24)

It is indeed a pity WODC couldn't cope with emptying all the recycling we have been encouraged to do, frequently enough. Perhaps we need to have Dean Tip reopened. I would be happy to go there. I can see this thread going to the debate page?

Wed 18 Nov 2020, 17:02 (last edited on Wed 18 Nov 2020, 17:11)

As I fully expected, this facility is (probably) to be removed because a minority (?) of selfish, lazy people have abused the system. It doesn’t surprise me one little bit. We have used this site since its inception, and always taken care to fold up cardboard and wash out bottles. We do this because we don’t need to put out a huge blue bin that we don’t have any further space for, in any case. Every week and for months now, we have waited for the mess to be removed after the tippers have dumped their rubbish, with rarely a large cardboard box knocked flat and obviously with never a thought for others. 

From the news report under the News tab:

“The move was approved at a meeting of the Cabinet on 18 November. The decision is subject to the usual call-in period before final confirmation.”