Cheshire East’s plans to change the booking system at tips because of traffic problems the council itself created will make waste disposal more difficult and reduce recycling, councillors were told.
Resident Tara Blooming was speaking at a meeting of the environment and communities committee.
Ms Blooming said disposing of waste at household waste recycling centres like Pyms Lane in Crewe should be easy.
But she believes the booking system “turns a straightforward visit into a difficult process for many”.
“Let’s not forget it is Cheshire East Council who created the problem, forcing all residents from Disley, Poynton, Adlington, Bollington, Congleton, etc, to use the same waste recycling centre, which was already busy before the closures,” said Ms Blooming.
And she asked if the council expands its booking systems into weekdays, what are people without internet access supposed to do.
Cheshire East says it needs to change the booking system because people have avoided going to tips at weekends when they have to book, which has resulted in long queues on weekdays causing a “significant traffic hazard” on main roads.
Congleton Town Cllr Robert Douglas said any proposal to extend the booking scheme would result in a reduction in recycling because it had already been shown the system was driving residents away.
Cllr Andrew Kolker (Dane Valley, Con) said super-sized illegal tips in some parts of the country were costing councils millions to clear up and to regulate.
“So, we really don’t want to make it so difficult for residents to use our sites that this becomes a problem and ends up costing this council far more than it does at the moment,” he said.
He added: “I’m very reluctant just to delegate this to officers once again.
“I’d like to see it come back. That’s what this committee is here for, to look at the options and to evaluate them and to come up with a decision.”
Congleton councillor Heather Seddon (Lab) disagreed.
She said: “The officers need that flexibility to have no booking system or a booking system. That is all that is being asked.”
Cllr Hayley Whitaker (Poynton, Con) told the meeting: “I’m not convinced that this booking system is going to be effective in any guise, because I suspect the main problem we’ve got is that our demand is outstripping the capacity of what we can offer residents at the moment and I get that’s down to budgetary constraints.”
She added: “I’ve had my reservations around the booking system being extended beyond what it is at the moment, because I think it does put people off.”
Cllr Tony Dean (Knutsford, Con) suggested an amendment to the recommendations, so authority to make alterations to the booking system be delegated to the director of planning and environment in consultation with the committee chair, vice chair and opposition spokesperson and this was voted through unanimously.
There was no mention at the meeting of what the changes might involve but a press statement released afterwards said they may include extending the booking system to seven days a week, introducing booking requirements at peak times or making changes for only some of the HWRC sites.
(Story by Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter)
Cheshire East Council – an absolute mess.