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Response to Cheltenham Borough Council's closure of Swindon Road HRC

Published
Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) has today responded to Cheltenham Borough Council’s (CBC) decision to temporarily close its Household Recycling Centre (HRC) at Swindon Road.

Typically, district or borough councils don’t run HRCs and this is something that falls to county councils. Within the county there are five sites providing high quality waste and recycling facilities to the residents of Gloucestershire.  

GCC has today confirmed that should CBC decide to permanently close its HRC at Swindon Road they would not take on the site. The reasons for this are: 

  • The site requires significant investment to get it to the same standard as others and is not in an optimal location
  • The cost to upgrade and run the site would be significant - £1 million to upgrade with year-on-year costs of upwards of £600,000 based on CBC figures
  • GCC feel confident that there is enough capacity at other sites to accommodate Cheltenham residents’ needs - primarily Wingmoor Farm, but also Hempsted
  • GCC is using data through the booking form to actively monitor and respond to increases, patterns and trends in bookings and will keep a close eye on this as time goes on
  • Most residents continue to be able to make on the day bookings
  • Both sites have had or are due to have investment to upgrade them and provide new services like reuse shops. Over £1 million at Wingmoor Farm with a budget ask for next year of £1.3 million at Hempsted
  • Uptake in usages happens in the spring, particularly around Easter, therefore GCC will look to open Wingmoor Farm HRC for seven days a week from 1 March 2025 providing extra capacity to meet the potential increase in demand expected in the spring
  • GCC will keep this under review and may consider making this a permanent change if the data shows it is needed

GCC is committed to working with CBC to analyse demand so that if further interventions are needed, such as enhanced recycling banks in local communities, these can be considered.  

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: "We are committed to providing excellent recycling and waste services for all residents of Gloucestershire. The temporary closure of the Swindon Road HRC presents an opportunity for us to demonstrate the capacity and efficiency of our facilities at Wingmoor Farm. Our investments in infrastructure and data-driven management systems will ensure that we can meet the needs of the community effectively. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Cheltenham Borough Council to enhance recycling services and provide customers with what they need."