Agenda item

Purpose: To set out recommendations for proposed opening hour changes for the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). This follows the successful completion of the recent trial expansion of opening hours at the Padworth site and engagement with residents on proposed new opening hours for both HWRCs.

Resolved that the opening hours of the Household Waste Recycling Centres be approved as follows (effective from 1 May 2020 or the earliest practicable date after that time, subject to the ability to reopen the sites in the context of the COVID-19 situation):

? The Council’s sites are open every day of the year including Bank Holidays, with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 7 May 2020, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 12) which set out recommendations for proposed opening hour changes for the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). This followed the successful completion of the recent trial expansion of opening hours at the Padworth site and engagement with residents on proposed new opening hours for both HWRCs.

Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter introduced the report and explained that prior to the summer of 2019, the Padworth HWRC was restricted in comparison to the long established site at Newtown Road as its hours were limited and it was restricted to green waste only.

During the summer of 2019, the Council began a trial period of extended opening hours and an ability to receive more materials.

The trial had proven very successful in displacing some of the demand on the Newtown Road HWRC. It had also resulted in an increase in overall site usage across the District. Residents living in the east of the district could take their waste to Padworth and did not need to travel to Newtown Road. Residents had been surveyed and there were very supportive of the extended service.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter recommended approval of the proposal to have an equal service across the two HWRCs with opening hours of 9am to 6pm throughout the year, with the exception of later opening one day a week at Newtown Road during the summer months. The additional cost to be incurred was felt to be relatively modest (in the region of £20k to £40k per annum).

The reopening date of the HWRCs could not yet be confirmed. The Government had yet to indicate when they could reopen, but the Council was eager to resume normal service. The Council was actively planning for the reopening which included appropriate safety measures.

Councillor Dominic Boeck seconded the report by stating the importance of residents living in the east of the district being able to access the same level of service as the rest of West Berkshire.

Councillor Graham Bridgman was very pleased at this proposal. He was routinely questioned by residents in his ward on this matter who wanted longer opening hours and the ability to dispose of more items at Padworth which offered an excellent facility.

Councillor Adrian Abbs also welcomed this development. He considered it likely that there would be a backlog of waste that residents would wish to dispose of and he queried whether extended hours could be offered in the evening in the opening weeks to accommodate this as well as still being able to ensure social distancing by users.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter agreed these were important points for consideration. He agreed there would likely be a backlog. HWRCs did not have car parks and a number of residents could seek to use the sites soon after they were able to reopen. This could result in queuing being a factor. It was therefore important to widely publicise the reopening and identify ways to manage the backlog in an efficient manner.

Councillor Alan Macro queried if a later opening one day a week would be possible for Padworth as would be the case at Newtown Road. It was also the case that some materials could not be accepted at Padworth and he queried whether this could be extended.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter explained that there was a low demand in the evenings for use of both HWRCs, with a lower demand in Padworth. However, the option could be taken of trialling longer hours on a temporary basis.

On the subject of extending the materials that could be accepted, this would require additional staffing and to date this had not been a workable option. However, it was the hope that usage would grow and the range of materials could be extended. Councillor Ardagh-Walter considered this part of the ongoing evolution of the service.

Councillor Macro reported that complaints/concerns had recently been raised with regard to an increase in bonfires and fly tipping. He hoped that the Council would be in a position to reopen its HWRCs as soon as the Government gave approval to do so.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter was aware of these issues. Recent communications from the Council had been to encourage residents to act appropriately. He too hoped that the HWRCs could soon reopen and the concerns mentioned could be resolved relatively swiftly.

Further details would be shared on reopening as soon as they were known.

Councillor Lee Dillon queried the selection of Thursday evenings for the later opening. For example, had Monday evenings been considered so that residents could dispose of waste collected over weekends.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter could not recall the reasoning for selecting Thursdays. However, this was subject to analysis and he offered further detail on this point in writing.

Councillor Dillon also asked if consideration had been given to ways to alleviate high traffic volumes accessing the sites.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter agreed that this was an area of concern. A resolution being given serious consideration was to implement a booking system to help manage the volume of those on the sites. This was a challenge the Council was striving to meet.

RESOLVED that the opening hours of the HWRCs be approved as follows (effective from 1 May 2020 or the earliest practicable date after that time, subject to the ability to reopen the sites in the context of the Covid-19 situation):

? The Council’s sites are open every day of the year including Bank Holidays, with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Other options considered:

·         The following options were presented to Operations Board in December 2019:

·         Operations Board supported the recommendation of Option 3 above as the Preferred Option. The recommended option achieves a good balance between providing a high level of service access to residents and delivering value for money. It will provide a high level of standardisation of hours between the Council’s two sites and also allow flexibility for extended summer opening on Thursdays at Newtown Road.

·         A public engagement exercise conducted on the HWRCs during 21 - 24 February 2020 shows that prior to the public engagement exercise, most residents were not aware of the proposed changes. This was entirely expected because the purpose of the exercise was to increase awareness. Data obtained from the survey shows that residents are broadly supportive of the proposed changes, with most respondents either agreeing with changes or saying that they will not be adversely impacted. A summary of the recent survey has been included under Appendix C. The proposed new hours have also been communicated via the Council’s website.

·         It was intended that resident communications will be sustained in the period leading up to the implementation of proposed changes. However, due to the recent COVID-19 situation which has resulted in the temporary closure of the HWRC sites, we have paused our efforts to notify residents about the new hours to avoid confusing the public. Communications will be picked up again once the situation allows and before implementation.