Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has suggested reducing the opening hours of a recycling centre which serves Abbots Langley residents.
Waterdale Recycling Centre, on St Albans Road, is currently open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm in the winter and 8am to 6pm in the summer, but could be closed for two days a week to cut costs.
Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, said he was “gobsmacked” by the proposal.
He said: “The site is in my Leavesden Ward, and I live close to it. This proposal was buried in one sentence in a 387-page budget report to county councillors last week.
“We have been through this before. Back in 2014, the county council did just that and closed it for two days a week despite a petition that I and my colleagues raised. However, we kept up the pressure to get it open seven days a week, and in May 2021, it reopened it seven days a week due to ‘increased demand’ and to reduce ‘waiting times’ to get onto the site from the busy A405.”
He also claimed that the scheme could lead to an increase in fly tipping and criticised a proposal to introduce a booking system for visiting the site.
Councillor Eric Buckmaster, executive member for the environment at HCC, said: “A lot of other local councils operate a booking system for their recycling centres, where residents are able to book a convenient slot to visit a centre, and we are looking into whether a similar system would help us operate our recycling centres more efficiently. A booking system could help ensure staff have time to help customers, and mean reduced queuing times and fewer wasted journeys as access would be guaranteed. However, we will develop detailed proposals and consult the public on these before making any decision.
“We’re also looking at potentially changing the opening hours at the four recycling centres that are currently open seven days a week, to bring them into line with the five day a week opening of the other sites. We will consult the public before making any decision on this, but we would intend to keep all sites open at weekends, and ensure that opening days are staggered to ensure there’s always a nearby site open among our 16 recycling centres across Hertfordshire.”
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