Some locals say there now being forced to go out of the area to a neighbouring authorities tip to dispose of household waste, with increasing members of the public branding Hartlepool Council's appointments system as "not fit for purpose".
Sunday 15th Jan 2023 12:34pm
There's renewed calls from members of the public for the local council to re-think its controversial appointment system to access the areas household waste recycling centre following claims residents are left waiting days to get an appointment to access the site.
Locals face a four day wait to access the households waste recycling centre in Hartlepool
Hartlepool Borough Council introduced an appointments based system for local residents to access the councils household waste recycling centre at Burn Rd during the COVID-19 pandemic, however the schemes been criticised from day one by locals who say the move by the council which then ended up becoming permanent has led to many being unable to access the recycling centre, & has in turn contributed to the areas increasing levels of fly tipping.
Locals are now said to be finding it increasingly difficult to book an appointment at a time that suits them, with Hartlepool Matters finding the next available appointment to access the waste recycling centre from Sunday 15th Jan 2023 was four days time on the 19th Jan.
Plenty of appointments available, just so long as you're willing to wait, with many locals saying there struggling to find a day that works around their commitments.
On social media, many locals have took to criticising the councils decison to keep with the controversial scheme in that the introduction of the appointments based system which issues a permit to a local households vehicle to allow access to the site for a period of just ten minutes has led to swathes of problems for residents trying to get rid of their household rubbish in a responsible manner.
Some residents have claimed they’ve even had to take their rubbish out of the authority area to a neighbouring councils waste disposal yard, with many calling upon the local council to simply admit defeat on the failed scheme of making local residents apply to the council for a waste permit to enter the site & reintroduce the original system that many claim was “better” & “less hassle” than what's in place now.
Fly Tipping Incidents such as this one back in 2021 in the towns Oaksway Business Park was blamed on the councils appointments system making it "impossible" for some to gain legitimate access to the waste depot.
However, the council have repeatedly dismissed public concerns that the introduction of the appointments based system has in turn contributed to the areas increasing problems of fly tipping being reported across some of the towns most secluded areas, with the local council claiming the scheme is “a success” & has no plans to scrap it anytime soon.
The council argues that the appointments scheme prevents queues of vehicles causing traffic disruption in the area..
The councils waste disposal yard in Burn Road has in the past caused a number of traffic conjestion problems when the site was busy, with exceptionally busy periods such as the new year & the summer holiday periods leading to serious traffic conjestion that in some cases backed onto as far as the roundabout near to the busy dual carriageway causing serious safety issues.
Why not just move the site to Tofts Farm instead ?
Moving the site from Burn Rd to Tofts Farm would be a more appropriate place to site a waste facility, however the move would be "expensive" in the current climate.
Hartlepool Borough Councils always maintained that the introduction of the appontments system has succeeded in being able to mitigate the risks of vehicles causing significant traffic disruption by only allowing a certain number of cars in at a set time thus reducing the number of vehicles that would normally be left outside waiting to access the site if an appointments system wasn’t introduced,. However with locals becoming increasingly angry at the fact that they're struggling to get an appointment at a time that suits them, many believe the whole system needs putting back before councillors for a re-think, where locals claim if one local council can operate a household waste recycling facility without the need for an appointments system, why cant Hartlepool Council ?
Hartlepool Council already has its fleet services department situated at Tofts Farm Industrial Estate, & the site has massive scope to situate a recycling centre thats more fit for purpose than the one at Burn Rd....... but what council officer would listen to sound advice like that ?
Hartlepool Matters has in the past pondred over the idea of the council shifting its waste disposal facility from its current locationin Burn Rd onto Tofts Farm Industrial Estate just a mile down the road, where the size of the industrial estate would be the "ideal" site for a new modernised waste facility, not to mention being sited closer to the councils main base of operations currently located in the same area.
An old guy who used to work for the council many years ago once said, HBC only pays you to operate from the neck down...... they dont pay you to use your brain !
However, whislt likely to be "expensive", sadly good ideas from organisations critical of the local council such as us or from members of the public tend to get instantly dismissed by the local council, until that is senior council officers think the publics forgotten about & then raise it in a meeting years down the line, hoping those who thought it was a good idea in the first place & proposed it originally have forgotton that it was actually their idea...... !
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