Surrey County Council (SCC) has received one of its “largest ever responses” to a public consultation, after it asked people for their views on changes to community recycling centres (CRCs) .
Almost 14,000 people responded to the consultation, which includes plans to close CRCs in Dorking, Cranleigh , Bagshot and Warlingham .Other proposed changes include ending the free daily allowance of non-household waste, closing CRCs on two weekdays, ensuring CRCs in Camberley and Farnham are only used by Surrey residents, and restricting users of vans, trailers and pick-ups to larger centres only.
The consultation received 13,637 responses, 13,573 of which were from residents and 64 of which were from organisations and groups (such as other councils in the county).
Almost half of respondents (49%) said they had used one of the CRCs that is proposed for closure in the past 12 months.
The most popular proposal among respondents was the plan to ensure that CRCs in Camberley(67% agreed or strongly agreed) and Farnham (66% agreed or strongly agreed) are only used by Surrey residents.
Conversely, closing CRCs was ranked as the least preferred change, with more than half of respondents disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with the closure of each suggested site.
Writers of the report noted that “respondents in particular highlighted that any reduction to a CRC service, especially permanently closing CRCs, would increase fly-tipping”.
Reacting to the results, Liberal Democrat county councillor Stephen Cooksey said: “I am pleased that so many residents responded in such strong terms to the county council’s consultation, sending them a clear message that the CRCs should be retained and these unpopular proposals dropped.
“This consultation has generated one of the largest responses ever and I am calling for the cabinet to respect the wishes of the residents of Surrey and maintain these vital services”.
The results of the consultation will be discussed by SCC during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday September 26.
The consultation began on Friday June 23 and closed at 11.59pm on Monday August 7 (although late responses were allowed up to the close of business on Wednesday August 9).
Article originally appeared on Get Surrey
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