Council responds to Recycling and Household Waste Sites Consultation
Leicestershire County Council are currently consulting on proposed changes to Recycling and Household Waste Sites across the county. For the Melton Borough, this includes a proposed change of opening days at the Melton and Bottesford sites, and the closure of the Somerby site.
A response to the consultation has been submitted by Melton Borough Council, and residents are encouraged to have their say on the consultation before 24 January 2024, by visiting the Leicestershire Council Council website: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/have-your-say/current-engagement/recycling-and-household-waste-sites
In response to the proposed changes, Portfolio Holder, Portfolio Holder for Governance, Environment and regulatory Services, Cllr Glancy said:
“Whilst we appreciate the ongoing financial burdens that this proposal is based on, there needs to be a full analysis of the impacts. The site at Somerby is one of three sites in the borough, and these sites serve the community well. There are significant concerns around traffic movements if the proposed loss of Somerby does go ahead. The main concern is significant increases in vehicles at the Lake Terrace Melton Borough Council depot road. Since approved planning for additional housing there will be three major entrances and exits at the end of a very small cul de sac. This poses health and safety risks for entering the Melton Depot, the Recycling and Household Waste Site and residential housing. The closure will no doubt increase traffic making it difficult for refuse collection vehicle’s entering and leaving the Melton Borough Council Depot. We would ask that Highways have considered the traffic movement and that evidence of this could be passed to the Council.
"If sites are less accessible there is also a concern that some residents may need to use a contractor or pay for a bulky waste collection, with a cost of living crisis this does put some members of society into a worse position by the closure. Finally the risk of fly tipping could be increased if residents become frustrated, which is something all councils noticed when the charging policy came into force. This would risk undermining the pledges all councils made with the countywide waste and resources strategy. It risks creating additional cost and resource pressures for district councils who will be left to collect fly tipped waste whilst also having a detrimental impact on the environment.
"With regards to opening times at all sites, this will only exacerbate the frustration of sites being closed now, if the proposal to remove sites were to be approved then additional opening hours will probably be required to negate the closures and additional vehicle movements.
"It is also noteworthy that as part of the Leicestershire Waste Management Strategy, that all councils in Leicestershire have signed up to, we are to promote responsible disposal of waste and actively encourage residents to recycle items of waste generated from households”.
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