Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods providing an update on the current provision and performance of Household Waste Sorting Sites (HWSS) and Bring Sites in Leeds, and outlining issues which influence their use and effectiveness in order to recommend options for spatial policy, joint working with neighbouring authorities, maximising consistently high recycling performance and the diversion of waste from landfill.

The Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods submitted a report providing an update on the current provision and performance of Household Waste Sorting Sites (HWSS) and Bring Sites in Leeds, outlining issues which influence their usage and effectiveness and recommending options in relation to spatial policy and joint working with neighbouring authorities.

RESOLVED -

(a)  That the permanent closure of the Calverley Bridge zero waste site be approved.

(b)  That approval be given to maintaining the current free access of border HWSS by residents from neighbouring authorities, on the proviso that protocols and procedures to account for the shared cost of the provision of facilities, on a site by site basis, are developed and subject to continuous review.

(c)  That the development of joint working with neighbouring authorities North Yorkshire and Wakefield in parallel with the undertaking of a revised replacement site search, to be carried out during the interim period before Gamblethorpe closes upon completion of East Leeds redevelopment, be commended.

(d)  That approval be given to the redevelopment of the HWSS at Kirkstall Road and modernisation of the existing transfer station by means of an injection of £3,800,000 into the Capital Programme, with a full design and cost report (DCR) and business case being prepared and submitted to Executive Board for approval when the detailed plans have been fully worked up and costed. At this stage it is proposed to fund the redevelopment of the site using a DEFRA grant (£500,000) and unsupported borrowing, with the borrowing repayments being funded from savings made as part of the overall HWSS review. The scale of the revenue repayment will be dependant upon the use of the £1,050,000 currently identified for a replacement site for Gamblethorpe, as set out in paragraph 5.5.4 of the submitted report.

(e)  That approval be given to the further review of operational practices, in order to deliver a consistently high performance across all sites, with a further report being submitted to a future meeting of Executive Board.

(f)  That approval be given to the maintenance and development of the current complementary bring site infrastructure, whilst continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of bring site provision.

(Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.5 Councillor A Carter required it to be recorded that he abstained from voting on this matter).

(During the course of the discussion on this matter, Councillor Golton declared a personal interest in this item, as a user of the Gamblethorpe site)