MP Faisal Rashid has called for a new recycling facility in the south of Warrington before any closure of Stockton Heath Community Recycling Centre.
Mr Rashid has written a letter to Borough Council’s Chief Executive, Professor Steven Broomhead in response to the publication of a report due to be considered at the next Monday’s Executive Board meeting (December 10), which recommends that the Recycling Centre be closed, but “instruct(s) officers to allocate a suitable site for the provision of a CRC site within the South of the Borough as part of the Local Plan Process.”
Concerns had been raised with MP Rashid about the closure of the Stockton Heath facility and the impact that the loss of the Centre could have on the local area. Although the Stockton Heath site is the smallest of Warrington’s three recycling centres, it is considered by many to be the busiest. Residents from Stockton Heath, Appleton, Grappenhall, Thelwall, Walton, Stretton, Hatton and Lymm use the Centre.
Since the concerns were first raised with him in the past, Faisal has been in discussions with Chief Executive Steven Broomhead and Cllrs Terry O’Neill, Judith Guthrie and Russ Bowden to seek a solution, during which he emphasised the need for a community recycling facility to be provided in the south of the town.
Following these discussions, council officers are now recommending that the provision of a new site in the south of the town be included in Warrington’s Local Plan.
MP Rashid is now calling on council chiefs to keep the Stockton Heath facility open until the new centre is delivered to ensure that residents are not left without local access to a recycling centre.
MP Rashid said:“I am delighted to hear that council officers are recommending that an alternative site be found for a new community recycling centre in the south of Warrington and that it would be enshrined in the town’s Local Plan.
“My view on this issue has always been clear – if the Stockton Heath Community Recycling Centre cannot remain open, then an alternative site must be provided in the south of the town. I am pleased that the Council has listened to the views expressed by me and my constituents on this issue.
“However, given that the Council is at an early stage in finding another site, it is essential that residents in Stockton Heath, Appleton, Grappenhall, Thelwall, Walton, Stretton, Hatton and Lymm are not left without a community recycling facility in the meantime. I have written to Professor Steven Broomhead to make my views on this known and to press the case to keep the Stockton Heath site open in the interim. I will also be meeting with Councillor Russ Bowden shortly to discuss this issue further.”
