Padworth Recycling Centre expansion may not be ready until next year

West Berkshire residents forced to travel across the district to dump rubbish

WEST Berkshire Council has agreed to expand the Padworth Recycling Centre, meaning residents living on the eastern edge of West Berkshire will no longer have to travel to Newbury to dump their waste – however the upgrade may not be in place until next year.

Currently the site only accepts certain recyclable materials meaning residents must travel to the Newtown Road Recycling Centre in Newbury to dispose of general waste.

Speaking at the executive meeting, member for communities and protection, Marcus Franks, suggested a five- to six- month timeframe.

He explained any work would need to be subject to the approval of a planning application from Veolia, which runs the site, which would take around 13 weeks to process.

Once the plans had been approved, Mr Franks said the changes to the Padworth centre would take around two months.

However, Alan Macro (Lib Dem, Theale) suggested the upgrade may not be ready until after the new year.

He said: “It’s going to take longer than six months.

“They haven’t even finished negotiations with Veolia which need to complete before a planning application is even submitted.

“We are talking about quite a long period of time.”

The news comes as hundreds of West Berkshire residents were turned away from Smallmad Recycling Centre in Reading in just seven days after a new permit system was introduced.

A total of 900 vehicles were denied access to the tip after the ban on West Berkshire residents was imposed last Friday (July 1).

The facility had been widely used by residents in Calcot, Theale, Mortimer and other parishes on the eastern edge of West Berkshire.