CAMPAIGNERS have won a temporary reprieve in their fight to save the household recycling centre in Bridport.

Dorset County Council had proposed shutting the South Street facility after hearing concerns from residents about noise and traffic congestion.

But members of the authority’s planning committee decided to keep it open as normal during the week and open on Saturdays only for garden waste.

Coun Karl Wallace was among the campaigners who called for the centre to be kept open.

He said after the meeting: “This is only a temporary reprieve for two years and it will only open on Saturdays for a short period, garden waste only, and will be closed all day Sunday. At least the councillors on planning listened to common sense. I stated that we need the greatest good for greatest number of people as well as considering the potential for fly tipping which happened when Bothenhampton tip closed and before South Street had opened.”

He added: “Many thanks to those who attended the meeting.

“They included Dave Rickard, Bridport Town Council, Simon Williams, and there was support from the CPRE and Bridport Local Area Partnership. This shows the strength of people power. Thanks must also go to the county councillors who opposed the officer’s decision. It is an uphill struggle to overturn such a decision.”

The committee granted temporary planning consent on the site for two years.

The centre will stay open Mondays to Fridays as normal and open from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays from April 16 onwards but to accept only garden waste and will be closed on Sundays.

Ward councillor David Tett said after the meeting: “It was the right decision and common sense prevailed.

“Now we have to redouble our efforts to find a permanent site for the waste transfer station in some part of town. That is not going to be easy as wherever it goes there is going to be opposition.” Committee members visited the centre to see operations including the compaction of the green waste skip and recycling containers being emptied and replaced.

Limiting material to garden waste on Saturdays was put forward to address noise disturbance concerns of nearby residents.

Coun Robert Gould, county council environment spokesman, said: “We fully appreciate that this is not an ideal outcome and that these restrictions will have an impact on local people.

“However, our priority was to strike a balance between addressing the key concern of nearby residents and making sure local people had somewhere to recycle their waste. To achieve this, restricting weekend operations was the best option available.”

l The South Street site will continue to open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, November to March, and from 9am to 6pm, April to October.

All the usual recycling and waste disposal facilities will remain and all waste materials will be accepted on weekdays.

WORK to assess the suitability of the Broomhills site for Bridport’s new waste management centre continues, the council said.

The results are expected before the county council’s cabinet this spring. The work includes detailed ground investigations, flood risk assessments and discussions with the Environment Agency.

There is also a transport assessment, junction design and junction safety audit to be carried out to the Highways Agency’s satisfaction.

Staff are also carrying out studies to identify protected species and exploring options for pedestrian access.