WODC's proposed closure of recycling sites
West Oxfordshire District Council has sent a letter to town and parish councils on its proposed removal of ‘bring sites’ – the smaller recycling sites such as that at the Spendlove car park in Charlbury:
“West Oxfordshire District Council’s (WODC) Cabinet made a decision in November 2020 to remove the remaining community recycling centres across the district, details of these can be found on the council website here - https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/recycling-banks-and-centres/
“Before the sites are considered for removal, it was agreed that officers would consult with the associated town or parish councils’ and the WODC Ward Members.
“Now that step 3 of the National Roadmap out of Lockdown has been triggered by the Government I intend to undertake this consultation and I would be very grateful if you could send your views to Sian Edwards (sian.edwards@publicagroup.uk) by the 15th June.
“To assist you, I hope the following information is helpful.
“A comprehensive report outlining the benefits and issues of the community recycling service is on the council website here.
“During the last year the council has, at the request of the town/parish council, removed a number of sites including the ones at Eynsham, Burford, Long Hanborough, Clanfield, and Carterton. The evidence from this is that it has successfully prevented businesses from disposing of trade waste illegally and fly-tipping of non-recyclable items. It has been positive in cleaning up the environment for residents who live in the area and visitors who are a critical part of the local economy. In addition, a number of the private recycling sites operated by supermarkets have also been removed during the last year.
“All of the recycling material that residents can currently dispose of at community recycling sites can now be disposed of in their blue bin and box which are collected fortnightly, reducing the need for them to travel to the centre. Details of this service is on the council website here - https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/what-to-put-in-your-bin/recycling-blue-lidded-bin-and-black-box/
“In areas where sites have already been decommissioned we have removed the banks, any visible signage and structures and in the case of car parks, the space provides additional free parking to further support the local/visitor economy. Our intention would be to do this if we remove the remaining sites.
“I thought it would be helpful to provide you with information should your council wish to retain the site at your own cost.
“What I can say is that in order to provide a sustainable commercial service I believe there would need to be agreement between a number parish and/or town councils. The costs of providing 8 sites would be approximately £147,000. This would enable each site to be emptied twice a week. Any maintenance and repairs to the sites would be payable in addition to this. Parish and town councils would also be required to cover the costs of removing fly-tipping at the sites. Based on previous experience this would be in the region of £72,000 annually. In my view it would be difficult to ‘police’ who uses the sites and prevent those who are not residents in your town from using the facility. You would also need to determine which town should contribute, seek their agreement, and apportion the costs to each town council who are members of any new scheme.”
Richard Fairhurst · Mon 17 May 2021, 11:05 · Link