B&NES Council’s ambitious plans to build modern and environmentally friendly recycling facilities at the site of the current Keynsham waste site are taking a step forward.
From mid-February contractor, Farrans, will begin preparatory work to secure and prepare the site of the Keynsham Recycling Hub in Pixash Lane. The main works are due to follow on from March and it is hoped the work will be completed in Autumn 2023
The site will include a new reuse shop, alongside the new public Recycling centre, which is planned to open at the end of 2022. It will also give residents improved recycling choices and help meet the council’s climate and nature emergency commitments.
B&NES Council state that residents in Bath and North East Somerset are already bucking the national trend for the amount of material recycled in 2020/21, reaching an impressive Reuse, Recycling and Composting rate of 59.2%, the highest since records began. B&NES is currently placed fourth out of 92 unitary local authorities and ranked 15th out of all 338 local authorities in England for its household recycling rates. This is against a national backdrop of decreased recycling.
Councillor Dave Wood, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services: “Our waste modernisation and improvement programme delivers long-overdue investment in the council’s operational and public waste facilities. We are investing £39.1m in the new waste and recycling hub which will make it easier for people to recycle. It will also allow us to expand our service range in the future – helping us to improve on our already impressive recycling rate. In turn it will also help reduce general waste, save on operational costs and play an important part in tackling the climate and ecological emergency.”
B&NES Council’s Cabinet is meeting on February 10 to agree the council’s budget, which includes an additional £9.2m for the Keynsham Recycling Hub. The uplift is required to align with current market prices in response to national increases in labour and material costs as a result of Covid-19 and to deliver the proposed development in full. It also ensures measures to tackle the climate and ecological emergency are retained as a priority, as well as compliance with planning consent.
The current public-facing Reuse and Recycling Centre at Midland Road in Bath will stay open until such time as a replacement is open in Bath. This will ensure full provision of recycling facilities with no interruption. The council currently anticipates this will be in Odd Down.
The new facility will also help the council meet future legislative changes. Planning consent for the Pixash Lane site was granted in July 2021. Saltford Parish Council responded to the B&NES Council Planning Consultation in March 2021. To see Saltford Parish Council’s full response please see our ‘SPC’s response to Pixash Lane waste and recycling planning application‘ article.
You can find the latest information on the project on the website www.bathnes.gov.uk/keynshamrecyclinghub
