Coronavirus: Peterborough recycling centre and council buildings closed

The closures follow Boris Johnson imposing severe restrictions on the public’s activities to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.

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The latest government guidance on staying at home

Businesses ordered to close

All recycling centres in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire shut this morning, and Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council said jointly: “The decision to close sites has not been taken lightly but it is essential to encourage residents to stay at home and limit the spread of coronavirus.

“If you were planning to visit a recycling centre, please hold on to the items you were planning to take until they are reopened.

“During this time, we ask residents to act responsibly and not place items such as DIY waste, garden waste or recycling into their kerbside general rubbish collection. This will take up space in the collection vehicles needed for general household rubbish.

“Try to limit your food waste by home composting and using your freezer. If you have food waste it can be disposed of in your general waste bin or, in Peterborough, people should put food waste in their food waste caddies as normal.”

Although all council buildings are now closed, people can still contact both authorities through their websites and on the phone.

Further developments

Transport

The councils said they have committed to continue funding home to school transport operators up to Easter.

After Easter they are going to fund 85 per cent of the contract value as providers will not be incurring fuel costs on the routes.

Archives

Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Archives search rooms will be closed to the public until further notice.

Health and personal care volunteers

A campaign encouraging people with experience of adult health and personal care to volunteer to provide additional support has been launched across social media. This is to support the domiciliary care service, which assists older and vulnerable people who still live in their own homes but require additional support with household tasks and personal care.

More than 30,000 people across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been reached so far since the campaign launched, and more than 310 have filled in a survey capturing their skills so far. This is part of COVID-19 Coordination Hub the councils launched last week to help those most affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Services for older people and those with learning disabilities

Day services that support older people and people with learning disabilities closed on Monday until further notice.

Alternative home-based care provision has been arranged for clients of the day services who need this, the councils said, and staff from the service are actively being redeployed elsewhere to support vulnerable people in the community.

Support for adults with learning disabilities and autism at the Kingfisher Centre, Industrial Hub and City Centre Hub in Peterborough has been scaled back, providing support for the most vulnerable.

Bus Services in Peterborough

The Service X4 Northampton - Kettering - Corby - Peterborough will see its frequency reduced from next week to hourly from Mondays to Saturdays, and two hourly on Sundays.

Most of the journeys will still operate via Lynch Wood.

Cambridgeshire Customer Contact Centre

In order to re-direct our resources to critical services, the council said it will be closing the Greater Cambridge Partnership, Parking Policy and Park & Ride phone lines from close of play tomorrow and the Trading Standards phone line from close of play on Friday.

Registration services

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement all ceremonies are cancelled until at least the end of April.

A number of other changes have also been made to the registration services being offered by both councils to ensure the government advice around social distancing is being followed.

More information can be found on both councils’ websites:

For the latest information, visit: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/healthcare/public-health/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services or https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services.