Residents in the Vale of White Horse are being urged to air any concerns they might have over proposals to close some of Oxfordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres. This week Oxfordshire County Council launched a public consultation into plans they have to save £350,000 by reducing the number of Household Waste and Recycling Centres and their opening times. The centres, which receive more than a million visits annually, are currently located at Alkerton, Ardley, Stanton Harcourt, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge, and Stanford in the Vale. It has already been announced that Ardley will close by 2017. Although they cost a total of £1.2million a year to run the centres provide a much needed facility for people across the county allowing them to dispose of and recycle large unwanted items that are not suitable for kerbside collection. The county council, which needs to save at least £290million by 2018, is proposing to reduce the number of centres from seven down to three or four, and to reduce the opening hours for all sites by around 18 hours per week. The new sites would be located in:
- central Oxfordshire – expanding or replacing Redbridge
- central South Oxfordshire – expanding or replacing Drayton
- central North Oxfordshire – replacing Ardley and Alkerton with a new site
A fourth site could also be located at Dix Pit, Oakley Wood or Stanford in the Vale, or at a brand new location. People can find out more and have their say on the proposals by visiting the County Council’s website. The consultation closes on Monday 5 October. Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of the District Council, said: “We fully understand that the County Council has to make savings however, these proposals could mean a much greater journey for many in our district if they need to dispose of waste that can’t be collected on the kerbside. We’ve worked very hard to achieve our status as the number two recyclers in the country so seeing recycling options reduced for our residents is very frustrating.” Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy and Waste at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “These recycling centres are extremely important to our residents so we are particularly concerned over the potential loss of the Stanford in the Vale site. We will also need to see what the proposals for Drayton and Redbridge could mean for those living near to those sites. We promise to work with the County to mitigate the risks associated with these proposals, however I’d urge any resident who has a concern to have their say before it’s too late.”