Almost one in five traders missed York tip slots

Joe GerrardLocal Democracy Reporting Service
News imageGoogle Entrance to Hazel Court tip on James Street in York. There are green railings lining the entrance road, with a sign to the left pointing to a 'Pedestrian and Cyclist Recycling Area'. To the right behind the railings there's a large industrial building, with 'Be Independent' above the doors.Google
Households are currently limited to four 10 minute slots a week while businesses can book up to two 15 minute slots a day at Hazel Court

Almost one fifth of traders missed their slots to dump waste at York's Hazel Court tip in the first month since a new booking system launched, council figures show.

City of York Council data showed 195 out of more than 1,000 slots made available for traders in the four weeks since bookings went live were missed.

Meanwhile, about 90% of residents turned up for their appointments between 2 and 29 March.

A spokesperson for Yorwaste said the changes had not resulted in any unusual increases in traffic at Hazel Court, as some had feared, nor had the city's other tip at Towthorpe been any busier than usual.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council said the system was being widely-used and well-adopted by residents and activity at the site was broadly in line with seasonal expectations.

But it said missed trader appointments were causing issues because they reduce availability and cannot be easily given to someone else at such short notice.

A report ahead of the council's executive's approval of the new system in September stated residents had raised safety concerns over drivers attempting dangerous manoeuvres in the road.

Businesses based in and around Hazel Court had also claimed congestion caused by queues for the tip was making it harder for their customers to reach them.

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