Oxfordshire tip usage down blamed on new ‘bureaucracy’

Alkerton tip near Banbury is down 48 per cent from February last year, Ardley Fields is down 32 per cent, Drayton is down 38 per cent, Oakley Wood is down 35 per cent and Redbridge is down 28 per cent.

Conservative leader Liam Walker told Oxfordshire County Council‘s full meeting on Tuesday, March 24 that “bureaucracy” is to blame for this.

The new booking system was introduced by the Liberal Democrat administration in mid-January, but around 26 per cent of people who attend one of seven tips are not booking in advance.

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Conservative councillor Lee Evans put forward a motion to councillors calling for a rethink on the new booking system.

He said Oxfordshire County Council had consistently performed for 11 years as the best for tips across the country.

But he accused the current administration of risking that reputation with the “unnecessary and unwanted” rules for using the tip.

“We’ve be become a council that you need to fill in a five-page booking form just to take a bag of leaves to the tip,” he said while describing it as “farcical”.

Redbridge tip (Image: Ed Nix)

Mr Walker, leader of the Oxfordshire Alliance, said the new rules suggest the council doesn’t trust residents, who are being “managed, monitored and given permission” to use the tip.

He said the changes “add bureaucracy, create barriers and send entirely the wrong message” to residents.

He added: “Residents are increasingly fed up of having to ask this Lib Dem administration for permission to go about their daily lives.

“You need a permit to get into this city, you need to meet a criteria to drive down certain high street roads.

“Turn around the wrong way at a junction, you’re fined, try to park to support a local business, you’re hit with ever increasing parking charges.

“And now, unbelievably, you can’t even dispose of your own household waste without proving who you are and booking permission to do so at a specific time.”

But Liberal Democrat Rebekah Fletcher questioned the timing of the debate, and said it should be returned to council when “there is evidence, and not just vibes”.

Judy Roberts (Image: Oxfordshire County Council)

Cabinet member for place, environment and climate action, Judy Roberts, said: “We have all seen comments on social media, but that is not evidence.

“The public have not raised any concern about he difficulties of providing” personal information such as proof of address to book a slot, she added.

Ms Roberts said that the number of visits to the tips “does not always tell the whole story”.

“There has always been some trader abuse and some of the changes have been specifically targeted to reduce the amount of trader abuse, in which case they wouldn’t be visiting us now,” she said.

Mr Evans’ motion was outvoted and rejected.