Boaters on the canal through Batheaston can continue to use at-risk waste facilities ahead of a meeting at the end of the month, the Canal & River Trust has said.
A Biffa waste collection at the site in March | Photo supplied
Last month we reported on fears that fly-tipping would get worse after the Canal & River Trust (CRT) announced the imminent closure of the Bathampton waste site used by hundreds of people.
The charity said that fly-tipping had made the site “unsustainable and unfit for purpose”.
But local residents, itinerant boaters and long-term mooring holders said there was no consultation on CRT’s “abrupt and final decision”.
A petition was signed by more than 500 people, acknowledging that the CRT had suffered a substantial funding shortfall but condemning the removal of vital refuse-collecting facilities in one of the busiest parts of the network and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The petition said the already overburdened bins in Dundas and Bath would not be able to cope and warned that some boaters would end up burning their waste or fly-tipping along the canal.
The petitioners said the problem with the misuse of the site in Bathampton had been known to CRT for a number of years and suggested that the bins need to be fully contained by building a roof on the compound and getting a proper lock.
Last month CRT and Bath & North East Somerset Council, which is the landowner, issued a joint statement saying they were working together to try to resolve the issue to balance the needs of boaters, the Bathampton community and the environment.
And this week, the CRT issued an updated statement saying: “We were disappointed by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s instruction for us to close the bin store at Bathampton on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
“After working hard to communicate with the council about their decision, they have now agreed to a meeting at the end of April to discuss the future of the bin store.
“We are continuing to empty the facility and it will remain open for boaters until the meeting at the end of the month.
“Our customers remain our priority and we are doing all we can to remedy the situation while also identifying nearby alternative sites with suitable access.”
