Council forced to extend closure of Bottesford tip
Villagers at Bottesford have been told their household waste and recycling centre will remain closed for an extended period.
The Grantham Road site was one of four Leicestershire centres closed temporarily by the county council because of increased demand and a shortage of drivers.
The closure was initially only for a week, with Bottesford set to reopen on Friday, but County Hall now say it must stay closed, along with with the other three sites, to enable Leicestershire’s waste services to continue to operate at larger centres.
It means people in the village face a 30-mile round trip to visit the borough’s only other tip, at Melton Mowbray.
County council officials say the situation is a knock-on effect of authorities across the country facing increasing challenges in managing waste.
Disruption at waste treatment facilities across the nation - including three major incidents in the last 48 hours - has increased pressure on the sites that remain operational.
The Environment Agency has also closed several waste facilities elsewhere in the country, resulting in additional waste being redirected into the wider system.
These pressures have seen two treatment facilities that process waste collected from Leicestershire unable to accept further material from the county at the current time.
Councillor Adam Tilbury, cabinet member for environment and waste, said: “This is not an issue unique to Leicestershire.
"The waste sector is currently experiencing significant pressure across the country, with a combination of site closures, treatment capacity issues and recent fires affecting the whole system.
“Unfortunately, those challenges are now having a direct impact on the facilities that handle Leicestershire's waste, with two of the treatment sites we rely unable to take any more material because they are struggling to move waste on quickly enough.
“While we appreciate the inconvenience this temporary closure will cause residents, taking this action is necessary to ensure waste can continue to be managed safely and responsibly while we work with our contractors and partners to restore services as soon as possible."
Residents in Melton Mowbray are also advised that the town’s Lake Terrace site will close early at 4pm on Wednesday and Thursday this week due to the current hot temperatures ‘to help protect the health, safety and wellbeing of both site users and staff’.