Concern over tip fees for cross-border households

A man who has to pay to use a recycling centre 3 miles (4.8km) from his home because it is in a different county says it raises concerns about "practicality and fairness".

Sherborne recycling centre in Dorset is regularly used by Somerset residents living in nearby villages, including Milborne Port, Templecombe and Henstridge.

They now have to pay £8.50 to use the facility after Dorset Council introduced charges for those living outside the local authority area.

John Turner, Milborne Port resident, said the change would lead to longer journeys for waste disposal, but councillor Jon Andrews said the system had been designed to be "simple and fair".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Dorset Council operates 10 recycling centres across its county, with those using Dorchester, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Wimborne now having to book in advance.

For those living in villages such as Milborne Port, the nearest Somerset facility is Castle Cary, which is about a 25-minute drive away.

Hilary Harle, 78, from Milborne Port said the "consequences of the decision have not been thought through" and that it will encourage people to "tip it or find somebody's skip and chuck it in there".

Jo Revell also lives on the Somerset side of the border is registered disabled and thinks it the decision is "appalling". She said it will mean her travelling twice the distance to get to a free recycling centre.

"The further I drive the more painful it becomes, so the extra distance will be very hard for people like me," added Revell.

Turner thinks there is a "simple and practical solution" which would be adopting a "geographic approach whereby households within a defined radius would be granted free access to the recycling centre, regardless of council boundaries".

Revell agrees the charge should be based on distance from the tip, not county, whilst Harle thinks the charge should be "small and reasonable".

Dorset Council said the changes will smooth visits, tackle trade waste abuse and ensure residents were not subsidising people from neighbouring areas.

Dorset Council said independent reviews, including by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, had shown booking systems do not lead to increased fly-tipping, and instead help improve site efficiency and recycling rates.

The authority said it would review the system regularly and make changes based on residents' feedback.

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