City of York Council is extending the opening hours of Hazel Court Waste Recycling Centre from Monday (8 March) in an attempt to solve the problems of traffic backing up in James Street.
The new opening times (usually introduced in April for the summer period) for strictly essential journeys only, will be:
- Mondays to Saturdays: 8.30am to 7pm
- Sundays: 8.30am to 4pm
In recent weeks, there has been a huge demand for the HWRC site, with an increase of around 30 per cent in visits, which has resulted in queuing problems in the area.
The council says the extended opening hours hopefully will address this issue and in addition to this Yorwaste, who manage the sites, have made further adjustments to make on site bays clearer and have increased the number of garden waste and cardboard skips.
Traffic monitoring will be in place at sites and due to safety concerns regarding queueing outside of the sites, residents may be asked to leave and return at another time.
Kerbside garden waste collections will also resume from 29 March. Check your garden waste collection dates via the online waste collection calendar.
In addition to this, traders are permitted to use Harewood Whin to dispose of their waste too. For more information on this visit www.yorwaste.co.uk/commercial-waste/
Commercial waste tipping times are will remain the same Monday to Friday, between 8.30am to 4.30pm, not at weekends.
Cllr Paula Widdowson, executive member for climate change and environment, said: “We hope by extending the opening hours of Hazel Court HWRC it will help reduce queuing in the area. But we are encouraging people to only visit sites if necessary and to visit at quieter times of the day where possible.
“This helps to ensure social distancing guidelines can be followed and also reduces the traffic impact from queuing in the surrounding areas.”
The council says please consider before travelling to the HWRC’s that journeys are essential during the national Covid restrictions.
- To pre-sort waste before travelling, so we can get people in and out as quickly as possible to help reduce queue times
- Do not arrive before the sites are open. Vehicles queuing in advance of the sites opening may obstruct approach roads
- The number of vehicles on-site is restricted to allow for the safe disposal of waste in line with social distancing guidelines
- Only one person should leave a vehicle to deposit waste
- Only bring what you can safely handle as staff will not be able to help you unload your waste as they normally would
- If you are queuing to use the HWRC please be considerate and do not block access for nearby businesses or other road users
- Unacceptable or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated under any circumstances and the site staff reserve the right to ask to leave the HWRC without depositing your waste.
For more information visit: www.york.gov.uk/HazelCourtHWRC