Could Frodsham waste tip be closed in 15 months?

FRODSHAM’S household waste recycling centre could close in 15 months.
The possibility has been put forward by Frodsham councillor Andrew Dawson following the decision by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) planning chiefs to grant temporary permission for the centre, at Frodsham Railway Station, for 15 months.
Cllr Dawson predicts this will mean there will be another application for temporary planning consent in 15 months – or that the centre will operate without planning permission.
But he added a third possibility: “Perhaps the site will close? CWaC has said it will be reviewing its household waste recycling sites in the next year or so.”
Cllr Dawson acknowledged that the centre is highly valued by Frodsham residents and those from surrounding villages
He said: “The user figures for our centre show we deposit a greater mass of waste per visit than anywhere else and that we have more residents attending the centre on foot than any other centre. In short this is a well used valued resource – but it is in the wrong place.
“How many towns have their recycling centre in the middle of town, at our gateway railway station and in the main car park? We know it is in the wrong place and built to the wrong specification everytime we have to wait for the skips to be changed.
“We know it is in the wrong place because, in planning terms, it what is termed a ‘non-conforming use’ – in other words it is a land use in the wrong place. It is a land use that has adverse effects on the neighbourhood. It was for that reason, around 25 years ago the then Cheshire County Council granted the site the first of several temporary planning permissions.
“Temporary planning permissions are rare – they recognise the value of a particular land use, but also signal that this land use must come to an end. Every five years or so this temporary planning permission has been renewed – perpetuating what the old county council first recognised and what CWaC has recognised since it was formed, that this facility is in the wrong place.”
Cllr Dawson said he had reluctantly supported the renewal of planning consent every time because he recognised the value of the centre. But the situation highlighted CWAC’s lack of investment in Frodsham and the failure to find an alternative site.
He added: “Seeking a renewal of the permission for only 15 months strikes me as problematic. Whilst I hope I’ll be proved wrong I do not expect CWaC will have found an alternative site and have it live in 15 months time..”
Cllr Dawson said he and fellow-Frodsham councillor Lynn Riley would be be lobbying for a new site to be found in and around Frodsham and for new modern facilities to be created.
“Our present site recycles 65 per cent of the waste deposited there – I’m sure a new modern facility would help us re-cycle more.”