‘No logic’ in original plan for tip changes coming to Walsall
Confusion over the closure of a Walsall tip has been addressed by a top director at the council.
With big changes coming to the Household Waste and Recycling Centres in the borough, delays and a change in plans, residents have been left baffled as to which facilities are closing when.
Walsall Council is transforming its waste facilities in line with the new super tip opening on February 2 on Middlemore Lane in Aldridge.
Part of the programme is the major redevelopment of Fryers Road tip in Bloxwich, which will see the site expanded and the installation of an incinerator plant.
But environment director Kathryn Moreton said the original plans the council had for the programme ‘made no sense’.
The authority initially proposed to close the Fryers Road tip for redevelopment when the Middlemore Lane super tip was being created.
The plans involved keeping the Merchants Way site open until the Fryers Road tip had been completed and reopened to the public.
But the council found that having two tips open within a couple of miles of each other wouldn’t benefit residents or be policy compliant.
The council has now chosen to close the Merchants Way facility a day before the new super tip opens, and will make a decision on what to do with the Fryers Road expansion further down the line.
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Currently, a feasibility study is being carried out into the Fryers Road site to assess best options, the results of which will be presented to cabinet for a decision in the coming months.
Walsall Council will now keep the Fryers Lane tip open, contrary to a sign at the site saying its closing, until the redevelopment commences.
No information has been provided on the future of the Merchants Way site once closed.
Speaking at a street scene and communities scrutiny committee on January 19, Kathryn Moreton said: “Fryers Road will remain open when Middlemore Lane opens. Residents will have access to the HWRC until we know what the plans are.
“The original intention when Middlemore Lane was approved was that Fryers Road would be redeveloped in tandem. At that point Merchants Way would stay open alongside Middlemore Lane whilst they finish Fryers road.
“In practice, the decision made no sense, it was historic and not logical to have two sites open within a couple of miles within each other.
“On that basis, the decision to close Fryers Road was changed, the signs should all now be changed to reflect that it will stay open for the foreseeable.”
Councillor Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council, said: “I can categorically say Fryers Road will be expanded rather than closed which seems to be the rumour going round. That is not the case, we’ve got more chance of closing the Leather Museum than the waste transfer station.
“It’s imperative to have a facility on that side of the borough. Fryers Road is here to stay and capital expenditure will make it more acceptable and future proof.”
