Council puts search for new recycling centre on hold

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A council is set to temporarily drop its plans to relocate a recycling centre and will instead extend its lease for the existing site.

Vale of Glamorgan Council was searching for a replacement for Llandow Recycling Centre for years before it announced at the end of last year that work had started to remedy the poor state of the entrance to the site.

The issue at the current site, described as “horrendous” by the leader of the council Cllr Lis Burnett, was a key factor in kick starting the council’s search for a new one.

However a cabinet report published recently shows that the council is now looking to extend the Llandow Recycling Centre lease for a further five years.

Break clause

The proposed lease includes a break clause at three years should suitable alternative land to relocate the centre become available.

The cabinet report states: “There are currently no suitable options that are financially viable but if options are presented the necessary due diligence will be undertaken and this matter will be subject to a further report.

“Relocation long-term to an alternative site remains the best solution as the existing site is outdated and not considered user-friendly.

“However until there is land available in an industrial area that meets the requirements of Environmental Permitting Regulations and can secure planning consent making use and improving the existing site is the only option.”

Despite several attempts to acquire new land and engagement with agents and landowners no options were secured.

The local authority came very close to securing a site in 2022 but the landowner the council was engaged with said they no longer wanted to sell just before a deal could be struck.

Resurfacing

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s report also states that the landowner of the access road to the site, which it calls “extremely difficult to pass” and in “urgent” need of investment, started resurfacing it.

However it also states that the landowner is no longer able to finance the rest of the resurfacing works and that that the council will patch repair the rest of it itself.

The report adds: “This will also ensure the council meets its statutory duty to provide a facility within a reasonable distance of their residents’ locality and to ensure entry and exit is safe and to avoid damage to vehicles.

“The landowner has advised that there will be land options for the council to consider on the existing site but closer to the front estate entrance in the next [two to three] years which gives the service area time, to prepare capital bids for consideration.”

Vale of Glamorgan Council has also set aside £100,000 in its capital programme for 2024-25 to make additional improvements to the site.

Statistics in the cabinet report highlight that Llandow Recycling Centre’s recycling performance is lower than the Barry centre on Atlantic Trading Estate.

Barry Recycling Centre took on 160,531 bookings in 2023 and had an 85% recycling rate.

For the same year in Llandow 39,103 bookings were made and the centre had a recycling rate of 72%.

The cabinet report on Llandow Recycling Centre will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 21.