Dudley MP Sonia Kumar has urged the council leader to establish a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) in the north of the borough, emphasizing that waste disposal services are essential rather than a luxury.
The borough currently operates just one HWRC, located on Birmingham Street in Stourbridge.
MP’s Call for Immediate Action
In a letter to council leader Cllr Patrick Harley, Ms Kumar highlights the shortcomings of plans for a new centralised HWRC. She states: “While I understand that the council has proposed plans for a new centralised household waste recycling centre, these proposals do not address the immediate challenges facing residents today.”
“Temporary or ‘pop-up’ waste facilities previously operated successfully in the north of the borough and were both well used and welcomed by local residents,” Ms Kumar adds. She calls for the reinstatement of regular facilities in the north alongside pop-up tips as an interim solution.
Council’s Planned Review and Funding
Cllr Damian Corfield, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and Sedgley ward representative, addressed concerns about northern tip provision during a January meeting of the Communities and Growth Scrutiny Committee.
“We have got a strategic review on HWRC provision and within the budget there is funding to look at provision for the north of Dudley,” Cllr Corfield confirms. “There is funding in the budget to provide HWRC provision of some sort, we are not sure exactly what that is yet but the importance of having provision in the north is key and we have factored that in.”
Although no specific date is set, Cllr Corfield expresses hope for new provision within the financial year.
