A REVIEW of Warrington’s community recycling provision has sparked fears that closure of the Sandy Lane Recycling Centre at Stockton Heath would be earmarked for closure.
Worried councillors in the south of the borough are preparing themselves for a fight to save the tip site in the event of a closure recommendation.
Four years ago, the borough council put forward earlier proposals to close the site but dropped the plan after there was an uproar among residents.
Cllr Peter Walker, chairman of Stockton Heath Parish Council, said: “If there is any suggestion of closure, I am sure all the parishes south of the Ship Canal will be united in opposing it.
“The Sandy Lane centre is vital to all South Warrington – if it closes people will be forced to travel through Warrington to go to Gatewarth Tip or travel out to Woolston.”
Cllr John Price, of Appleton Parish Council, said: “I am sure we would oppose any closure plan.
“If there was no tip in Stockton Heath, there would be a big increase in the number of people driving through Warrington town centre, which is already a traffic nightmare.
“There would probably also be an increase in fly-tipping in areas like Stretton, Hatton and Walton where it is already becoming a problem anyway.”
Four years ago, all the parish fought to keep the recycling centre open – and won.
They were supported by residents of in Stockton Heath, Appleton, Grappenhall, Thelwall, Walton, Stretton Hatton and even Lymm.
Although Sandy Lane is the smallest of Warrington’s three recycling centres it is generally regarded to be the busiest – and all councillors in the south of the borough believe it is crucial that it be kept open, unless a nearby alternative site can be found.
A borough council spokesman said: “Officers are currently reviewing the CRC provision within the borough, the results of which will be presented to a future executive board meeting.”
4 Comments
A very short and uninformative reply from the council there then and no attempt to either alleviate peoples fears or to give any inclination at all regarding whether the rumours are true! So much for being open and transparent but hey that’s the norm from them.
So once the ‘clever’ officers have come to their ‘conclusion’…and their findings and recommendations (either way) are passed to the ‘even more clever’ executive board I’m guessing that the latter will then have to vote and make a decision? So at what point do the public get to know more details?…will it be when the report appears on some future exec board agenda a short while before the decision meeting leading to very limited time for us all to object and rally troops SHOULD they [officers] recommend closure again for some reason?
Saying that given the huge public outcry last time they tried to close and the fact that it is a hugely popular and well used site even with it’s reduced opening hours these days which people didn’t really argue about as at least it was staying open, I recon if the council do say they are closing it again they will have an even bigger fight on their hands than last time.
I WILL BE OPPOSING ANY CLOSURE OF SANDY LANE TIP/RECYCLING CENTRE 100% Not only because it is local to me and I often use through necessity but also because the staff there are always so very helpful and pleasant (unlike some of the grumps at Gateworth and Woolston sites when we have had to go there because of opening times or SH not allowing certain items).
I guess the council would love to close it though and sell off the land, which I believe they own, to some property developer though…££’s kerching !
Not everything is about quick money though WBC and I hope you realise that without a tip in the South of Warrington you may find that fly tipping gets a whole lot worse which long term would cost you way more to clean up and investigate than the tip currently costs you or you make on selling the plot to a housing developer.
DIZZY, I have always found the staff at Woolston Tip to be very helpful. I know they have come in for a lot of verbal stick here and in another place, but every time I have used that facility, the chaps there have been courteous, helpful and polite. And, it should be added, in the face of some pretty questionable actions and behaviour of some other users. On one occasion when one user was told, by a staff member, putting a mattress in the garden waste skip was wrong, the user replied “It came from my garden.”
Nobody had ever complained about the tip being there until the older people flats were built near it and then they all started complaining about noise once they moved in and suddenly it was a problem. The council might be using their complaints as reason to close it down and also blaming the costs to run the site and keep it open.
If it’s the noise and residents complaints stuff that it’s really quiet there as it’s only a small site and the tip was there before the oldies moved in. No disrespect meant to us older people of course lol
No wonder fly tipping is so bad tho. The council make it very hard for people to take their own household crap to the tips if they happen to drive small vans rather than posh cars. Not a car you have to apply for a permit. But people in houses also have little vans it doesn’t mean they are dumping trade waste. You can get more stuff in a big 4×4 which ARE allowed than you can get in a little van that NOT allowed. And now they want to close one of the tips too to make things even worse. You just couldn’t make it up ! Lets all dump our tip waste on the town hall lawns.
Yes LOCAL TIPPER they did seem to try and take to views of the people living in those flats as a major concern re noise last time (what noise?) but then I think they realised they were outweighed by those who have lived in the area lot longer and who have used the tip for decades.
You are also correct that the council make it very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone owning and driving a small van to take their waste to the tip. Surely sense could prevail if the tip workers simply look what is actually in the vans and if it’s obviously household excess waste and not business type then let them in.
If it transpires that any reason for closing it alleged to be down to money and running costs then how about the council just charge everyone say a £1 or £2 each time they go (unless it is green garden waste that is being dropped off).
Most people would happily pay £1 I’m sure, I would.
If they also charged the same nominal fee at the other two sites [Woolston/Gateworth] then they might even be able to afford to extend the opening hours.
Mmm….