Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/20/38) on the Household Waste Recycling Centres Improvement Strategy, attached.

An Impact Assessment is also attached for the attention of Members at this meeting.

(Councillors Biederman, Connett, Dewhirst and Hannaford attended remotely in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/20/38) on the Household Waste Recycling Centres Improvement Strategy, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Report outlined a Strategy to ensure that the Council’s network of Household Waste Recycling Centres could continue to be significantly improved, with several older sites being replaced over the next 10 – 15 years, should funding become available. The issues with some sites were illustrated in the Appendix to the Report, but included matters such as sites having to temporarily close to allow waste to be safely loaded and transported, vehicles regularly queuing on the public highway, restricted layouts, access issues, health and safety concerns, pedestrian conflict with vehicles and increased public demand.

The proposals to replace where possible would ensure that the standards of the service continued to develop in line with health and safety requirements and the public’s demands and expectations, thereby offering a network of modern, attractive, safe sites.

The sites requiring improvement were outlined in full as follows;

·         Tavistock -provision of new site

·         Newton Abbot - provision of new site

·         Cullompton, Tiverton and Willand area - provision of a combined new site

·         Honiton - provision of new site

·         Kingsbridge, Totnes, Dartmouth - provision of combined new site

·         Barnstaple - provision of new site

The Report sought approval to submit a planning application to develop a new facility at Tavistock and sought funding for £4.9m from the Corporate Capital programme. The existing facility at Crowndale was developed adjacent to the old landfill site which closed over 30 years ago. The site was physically constrained, there had been significant queuing problems on the public highway raising safety concerns and complaints. The proposed new facility would be on the adjacent inert landfill site, which was mostly within the Council’s ownership.

The Report finally proposed the development and implementation of a van permit system for Household Waste Recycling Centre access to help reduce the potential of trade waste abuse at sites. Permits would only be issued to vans registered to individual residents and not to vehicles registered to companies/businesses.

In progressing this particular scheme/proposal, the Chief Officer’s Report incorporated an Impact Assessment for the attention of Members at the meeting. Equality considerations only applied to the proposals surrounding the provision of new and maintenance of Household Waste Recycling Centres (public facilities). Modern designs would allow easy access for all site users and eliminate the need to use steps to access containers at these new sites. Disabled parking and welfare facilities would be provided at new sites. Overall, the provision of modern facilities would benefit all site  ...  view the full minutes text for item 578