STANFORD TIP : Consultation 10 August to 5 October 2015
County Council is reviewing its waste recycling tips with plans to reduce after 2017 from 7 sites to 3 or 4. A formal consultation will begin on 10th August until 5th October which is of importance to you!
The 4th is Stanford Tip – the most expendable, being the least central and a bit of an ‘outlier’ here in the west of the County. The more central site, south of Oxford, is at Drayton which would become our nearest waste tip if Stanford closes.
Usage of all waste tips has halved since kerb-side collection (by BIFFA) was introduced about 4 years ago. Visits to Stanford have come down from 280,000 p.a. to about 150,000 (2011/12) and County has to consider where the funds are best used. A careful study has ‘modelled’ future usage on distance (travelling time) from the tips, estimating travel time to Drayton for all of ‘the west’ is not more than 25 mins. I believe it will take nearly an hour to drive from Shrivenham/Watchfield to Drayton and allowing time to queue to use a busier site, possibly a three- hour round trip. There must be concerns that residents won’t make that effort, and dumping rubbish may result.
Since a public meeting in 2012, and as your County Councillor, I have made the case for the Stanford Tip again and again, and have won agreement (refreshed this year through your Parish Councils) that residents would be prepared to pay to use a convenient tip. I was ready to make that case more formally now, when an Order was issued from Government prohibiting charging for use of waste tips! I have asked Ed Vaizey MP to find out which Dept made this Order and why, but the consultation will be on the assumption that no charge can be introduced. 0
So residents of the ‘west of Oxfordshire’ must rally and make the case to keep Stanford Tip open!
Your responses and those of the Parish Councils can still make a difference. Please look out for the opportunity to send your views to the County Council from 10th August. Don’t hope other people will respond and do the job for you . . . .if the tip is important to you, make that clear to the County.
It would help if you make clear:
- how often you use the tip, and at what times of the year ?
- why you use the tip – what do you need to take that is not collected by BIFFA?
- could you increase your use of BIFFA? e.g. get a second garden bin?
- how long does it take for you to do a round trip now? would it take to Drayton and back?
- would you be prepared to pay to use Stanford Tip (if permitted)?
and you can make your response online
https://consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/HWRCstrategy/consultationHome