Demolition and remediation work is getting under way this month on part of the Midland Road recycling centre in Bath in preparation for the whole site being developed for housing.
How the recycling centre will look | CGI image © B&NES Council
Bath & North East Somerset Council has meanwhile announced that EW Beard will be building the new recycling facility in Locksbrook Road which will replace the Midland Road site when it closes next year.
The council’s housing company Aequus Construction Limited has planning permission for 176 homes for social rent, shared ownership and market sale at Midland Road.
The council will be spending just over £10 million to relocate the recycling centre. The land at Locksbrook Road currently comprises the council’s street cleansing depot and an adjoining car park used by the local VW garage.
Work on the new recycling centre is due to start in February once the street cleansing service team has relocated to a refurbished transport depot just up the road alongside the SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) passenger transport service operations. Work was due to begin at the old transport depot this week.
The new recycling centre, which is scheduled to open next September, was approved by the council’s planning committee in April despite 189 objections.
Nineteen local businesses publicly opposed the scheme, including Bath Spa University. Concerns focused on the flood risk and the impact on the local business and residential community including environmental health, traffic safety and congestion issues, as well as problems with accessibility due to the proposed gantry system.
Last Thursday, 27th November, councillors on the climate emergency and sustainability policy development and scrutiny panel received an update on progress from the cabinet member. They also heard from Tim Wallace, a member of Stop the Locksbrook Tip campaign, who spoke and gave a written submission.
He highlighted concerns about the raised gantry system, saying a Google search had revealed three deaths in the UK due to people falling off steps. He branded it an “inherently more dangerous system” but said no analysis had been published by B&NES Council.
Mr Wallace also said the categories of recycling will drop from 31 at Midland Road to nine at Locksbrook – a reduction of 70% – adding that at all stages of council planning and decision-making, there had been no analysis of the impact on increased emissions from people travelling instead to the state-of-the-art tip at Keynsham, nor on congestion on the A4 through Saltford and “rogue-dumping”.
Fellow campaigner and climate and environmental scientist Dr Steve Rocliffe also submitted a statement saying the plans will cut recycling provision by 70%, capacity by 20%, and place a major public facility on a floodplain.
Addressing the scrutiny panel, Councillor Paul Roper, cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development, said the council had committed to not leaving Bath residents without a recycling centre and had investigated more than 50 sites before settling on Locksbrook Road.
Councillor Roper (Kingsmead, Liberal Democrat) said it would not just be a relocation of the recycling centre but a “marked improvement”. He said: “It ensures continuity of service for the residents, it improves operational efficiency and it embeds sustainability.”
He said the council is undertaking flood risk management measures to ensure resilience of the site, highlighted the intended 70% biodiversity net gain and said the new centre would be fully accessible on foot and bike from both Locksbrook Road site and the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
Regarding Mr Wallace’s concerns, Councillor Roper said: “I am afraid that I cannot agree with his statement that this is going to be a more dangerous site. Not that the existing site is dangerous, but it is a tricky site and congested, and this will be a better site from a health and safety point of view.”
Councillor Duncan Hounsell (Saltford, Liberal Democrat) asked if there would always be enough staff at the new site to help people dispose of their rubbish. Councillor Roper said there would be, adding: “We obviously will not do anything that endangers the health and safety of residents. Obviously.”
Councillor John Leach (Walcot, Liberal Democrat), the council’s member advocate for climate resilience, asked the cabinet member about the accuracy of the claims that the range of items accepted at the new facility would be substantially less.
Councillor Roper: “It is slightly disingenuous of people to suggest that there is a 70% reduction in the items that can be brought to the site because it really does matter what those items are and how much we handle them.”
He added: “About 80% of the tonnage of items that are taken to the current Midland Road site can be taken to the new site. It is not right to characterise it as being 70% of things aren’t going to be able to be taken, because some of those things are things that hardly anybody takes.”
In response to a question from Councillor Saskia Heijltjes (Lambridge, Green) about the consequences if the Environment Agency permit for the Locksbrook Road site is delayed, Councillor Roper said: “We don’t think it will get delayed and affect the opening of the centre in September.”
Councillor Roper said the council recognises that major projects can have local impacts and to mitigate any potential parking displacement caused by the new facility, a residents’ parking zone is being prepared.
He also said that traffic queue monitoring will be implemented for four months after the opening to ensure the booking system and site layout function effectively.
Ongoing questions from the Environment Agency
The Environment Agency told the Echo last month that there were “some outstanding technical queries” that needed to be addressed with the permit for the new tip at Locksbrook Road.
And now documentation obtained from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request made by a Locksbrook Road resident has been shared with us.
It reveals that the initial permit application was made by the council in December 2024 but as recently as last month, the Environment Agency was still asking the local authority to confirm waste codes and clarify the site’s activities.
It is also revealed that in October, the council submitted a Noise Management Plan in accordance with Environment Agency guidance, outlining a raft of primary mitigation measures which include building a 1.6-metre concrete wall at the south of the site with an additional barrier of at least one metre installed above to screen receptors to the south.
A barrier of at least 1.8 metres in height to the north of the site is also proposed to mitigate sound emissions.
