Cottesmore tip will reopen in May and traffic restrictions will lift at North Luffenham tip in mid-April
Traffic restrictions will lift at North Luffenham tip in April and Cottesmore tip will reopen in May.
Rutland County Council, which runs the household waste and recycling centre services, hopes to return to a full service by June 21 as long as the Government's roadmap for easing restrictions stays on track.
The return to full service will take place in phases, to make sure all operations run as smoothly and safely as possible.
This will include the introduction of a temporary booking system, with pre-booked time slots for residents to access the tips, firstly at North Luffenham and then Cottesmore, which will reopen on May 17.
Lighter evenings and the seasonal change to tip operating hours mean that sites can now open for longer, from 10am until 6pm, reducing concerns about traffic volumes. The gradual easing of covid restrictions also means that staffing can start to return to normal levels across the council’s waste services - freeing up staff to recommence operations at Cottesmore.
The temporary booking system to reserve a time slot at North Luffenham tip will go live on Monday, April 12, and from Tuesday, April 27, you will not be able to use the site unless you have booked in advance. Bookings can be made via the council’s website or by phone from Monday 12 April.
The booking system will allow six cars on site every 20 minutes at North Luffenham, equating to 18 cars per hour or 144 cars a day.
The tip is currently open six days a week, Tuesday to Sunday.
Cabinet member for environmental services Lucy Stephenson (Con) said: "I know just how much people value our recycling centre service. Unfortunately, due to the covid pandemic, it simply hasn’t been possible to operate a full service across both our sites at North Luffenham and Cottesmore. With covid restrictions now being eased, we’ll soon be in a positon where we don’t need additional staff to implement covid-secure measures and provide extra cover for other services, like black and grey bin collections.
"This means that we can look towards lifting traffic restrictions around North Luffenham HWRC and reopening Cottesmore, albeit with some temporary measures still in place to make sure both sites can operate smoothly and safely.”
Following the switch to a booking system at North Luffenham tip from Tuesday, April 27, all temporary traffic restrictions currently in place around site will be removed, meaning two-way traffic flow will be reinstated along Glebe Road. The new exit gate at North Luffenham will also be brought into use for the first time.
Provided there are no issues with the new booking system and operations at North Luffenham tip are able to continue without disruption, the council will review the current ban on trailers at North Luffenham tip in May.
The temporary booking system to reserve a time slot at Cottesmore tip will go live on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. When Cottesmore reopens on Monday, May 17, you will not be able to use the site unless you have booked in advance. The booking system will allow three cars on site every 20 minutes at Cottesmore, equating to nine cars per hour or 72 cars a day. Cottesmore tip will be open four days a week – Friday to Monday. Trailers will continue to be banned from Cottesmore tip when the site reopens on May 17, although this will be kept under review.
Coun Stephenson added: “From June 21, in line with the Government’s proposed removal of all legal limits on social contact, we hope to lift all covid restrictions across our two HWRC sites. The continuing need for a booking system to manage traffic at both sites will be reviewed, with the intention of removing this as soon as it’s safe. We don’t expect to lift the ban on trailers at Cottesmore HWRC by this date. However, these arrangements will provide for a seven day a week HWRC service across two sites and access for trailers at North Luffenham.”
For more information about household waste and recycling centre services in Rutland, including further details about the process to book a timeslot at North Luffenham HWRC from April 12, visit: www.rutland.gov.uk/recycling.
