Torridge and West Devon Liberal Democrats
PeopleLiberal Democrats Representatives and Prospective Candidates at all levels of government. Adam Symons
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Local NewsMarch 2011For more information on any of the news items below contact our Parliamentary Spokesman Adam Symons on 01237 431498 or 07786 277470 Tip Restrictions will cause countryside disasterCould ‘Lead to an Explosion of Fly-tipping’Friday 25 March 2011 Devon County Council’s decision to make ‘last minute restrictions’ on their recycling centres could ‘lead to an explosion of fly-tipping’, according to Torridge’s lead councillor for waste and recycling, Adam Symons. Devon County Council have decided from the 1st April to ban vans from their recycling centres, and charge for all items of 'non-household’ waste such as soil, rubble and tyres. Torridge District Council was informed of the changes a week ago. Members of the public visiting the recycling centres have been informed of the changes, through leaflets given out by site staff. The lead member for waste and recycling at Torridge District Council, Adam Symons said: “What the County Council are doing is hastily planned, and poorly implemented. There has been no consultation, and little publicity to tell the public about why these changes are happening. The County Council is trying to save money. However, they are going to end up costing the tax payer more as district councils pick up the tab for clearing up the mess.” “The County Council have made these changes without consulting us, and expect us to pay for it. The first time we knew of such changes were when the public phoned us up to tell us about them.” “There are some fundamental questions which the County Council have failed to address. What happens when members of the public turn up to site with no cash in their pockets to pay for their rubbish? How is the County Council going to audit the fact that cash will be changing hands on site? What happens if people use a friend’s van to take a three-piece-suite to a recycling centre? I am really worried that their last minute restrictions will lead to an explosion of fly-tipping.” “We urge people who are caught short by these changes not to resort to fly-tipping. If you contact Torridge we can arrange a special collection of household furniture, white goods and other household items. If you are doing major building works on your house, we would encourage you to hire a skip to take the waste away, or make sure that the builder takes the waste away.”
Note: There are three
recycling centres in Torridge – Caddsdown, Bideford; Anvil Corner,
Holsworthy; Deep Moor, Torrington. Nearly 300 small scale
flytipping incidents are recorded in Torridge every year. The cost
of clearing up these items is estimated at around £10,000. To
request a bulky waste collection, call 01237 428734.
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