Have your say on new Household Recycling Centre plans

Residents are being invited to have their say on plans to develop a new household recycling centre (HRC) in March.

The town’s existing HRC, off Hundred Road, must close by 2023 under its current planning consent. To ensure that residents have continued access to household waste recycling services, the council’s Waste Team is proposing to relocate the facility to a site adjacent to the March Waste Transfer station in Melbourne Avenue.

The proposed option is a split-level design, maximising the capacity for queueing vehicles off the public highway and with separate Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) access. It is also proposed to have separate access and for cyclists and pedestrians, a reuse shop and segregation between the public and operational areas to avoid the need to close the site when exchanging recycling and waste containers.

To find out more about the proposals, residents can visit an online virtual exhibition where they can view site plans and more information, ask questions and leave their feedback as part of a public consultation taking place between Wednesday 8 June and Wednesday 6 July. The findings of the consultation will be fed into a planning application for the new facility, which is expected to be submitted later this year.

Councillor Lorna Dupre, Chair of the county council’s Environment and Green Investment committee, said: “Our network of household recycling centres provides a vital service for residents. The centres accept items for reuse, as well as providing opportunities to recycle as much waste as possible. They also support our net zero carbon ambition.

“This new proposed facility will offer many benefits to our residents. As well as offering increased capacity to accommodate the needs of our growing population, the proposals also include better traffic management on site to reduce queueing. The site would also be split-level, enabling residents to dispose of their waste without needing to climb steps.

“I would encourage everyone to share their views on the proposed facility when the consultation opens on 8 June.”

More information about the proposals and how to take part in the consultation will be available at https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/march-HRC-consultation ahead of the start of the consultation. Leaflets will also be sent to March residents about the plans.