Lincolnshire tips should be improved rather than have a booking system imposed, Conservatives say.
The free system is set to be introduced around November in response to complaints about long queues and traffic chaos at some of the county’s 11 sites, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.
The Reform-run Lincolnshire County Council says it could look into changes like extra days and longer hours in future if data shows there is the need.
However, Tories have rejected the idea of a blanket booking system completely, and say each site should get the improvements it needs.
A heated debate at the full council meeting on Friday (September 18) heard agreement that the tips aren’t fit for purpose, but dispute on what should be done.
A Conservative motion to reallocate just under £300,000 of unspent money towards the tips was voted down, with Reform saying it would barely make a dent in the problems.
Councillor Danny Brookes, the executive for environment, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve had a lot of complaints about queuing, with local residents and businesses not being able to access their properties.
“We’ve got to do something, and we think a booking system is the best answer.
“Booking will take a couple of minutes, if that. You can book online or on your phone, like most people book for the hairdresser or garage.
“When you’ve got 1.2 million visits to the sites every year, a booking system is sensible.
“We believe there should be six-day coverage in Lincolnshire, not five, and if we get the data to back it up then we’ll certainly be looking at it.”
Conservative leader Coun Richard Davies said: “Reform is using a blanket approach to a series of different problems – the issues in Lincoln are very different to those at Spalding.
“The council is saying we’re going to solve the lack of access by making it more difficult to use the service.
“We need a solution tailored for each location, whether it’s rearranging the layout, adjusting how traffic backs up, or different and longer opening hours.”
Lincoln’s facility on Great Northern Terrace was described as having the worst congestion, with local councillor Neil Murray remarking “You couldn’t find a more inaccessible site unless it was on the moon.”
Bourne holds the lowest satisfaction rating due to its own traffic problems, with 60 per cent of users saying they were unhappy with it.
A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic, but was discontinued in 2021 in the hopes of making the use more convenient.
The tips have seen a rapid increase in how much waste they handle, with 66,000 tonnes dropped off last year.
