Cheltenham's 'much loved' household recycling centre (HRC) is closing for a prolonged period from January 2025 — with the borough council considering whether it will run the site at all in the future.
The HRC on Swindon Road, which has served the town for more than 40 years, needs works costing in the region of £1 million, in order to comply with new Environment Agency (EA) regulations.
Cheltenham Borough Council says the end of the site's existing EA permit, which runs out in January 2025, presents an opportunity to review its overall value to taxpayers, with the facility costing more than £600,000 a year to run.
The council is set to confer with Gloucestershire County Council — which operates all of the county's other HRCs — over whether it can take on the running of the facility.
Councillor Izaac Telford, cabinet member for waste and recycling, told November's cabinet meeting that as far as he is aware, the Swindon Road HRC is the only one operated by a borough council in the whole of the UK, with all others being operated by county councils.
He added the county council would be in a better position to fund the service, as it receives a much greater share of council tax.
Councillor Telford also pointed to how the range of waste the council now collects through kerbside recycling has grown 'exponentially' in recent years, with collections now amounting to 10 times the amount of waste that is taken to the HRC.
He also said increasing numbers of people are choosing to use Gloucestershire County Council's Wigmoor Farm HRC in Bishop's Cleeve — which can accept 'a much greater array' of items for recycling — instead of the smaller site at Swindon Road.
Councillor Telford commented of the review: 'The services offered at the household recycling centre are discretionary and it’s only right we review all that is on offer for residents, taking into consideration our enhanced kerbside services, value for the taxpayer and how, during these difficult financial times, we are funding our many other valued, statutory front line services.'
Residents will be able to have their say on the HRC's future through the council's budget consultation — which run from December 2024 to January 2025 — along with a planned residents’ survey in 2025.
