Purley Oaks UPDATE: No more 30 minute closures

Chris Philp MP is delighted the Council has listened to his call to re-arrange Purley Oaks Recycling Centre so that it will no longer close for 30 minutes every time a container needs to be emptied.

The MP for Croydon South has been calling on the Council to find a way to stop these closures since June this year.

The closures, which can take place several times per day and which tend to take place when the Centre is at its busiest, have resulted in major queues and congestion on the roads in the surrounding area.

A survey of 730 residents found 60% of users were dissatisfied with the length of the queues. The survey also found the 80% of residents were dissatisfied with the early closing time of the Centre and would like it to be open earlier.

The Recycling Centre will be closed for two weeks, between 5 December and 19 December.

Chris said: “Like many residents, I have been stuck in the queues waiting for Purley Oaks Recycling Centre to empty containers and reopen; it’s inconvenient for those of us trying to sort out our recycling, and it’s inconvenient to those others who are caught in the queue trying to get to somewhere else.

“It is good to see the Council listening to my and residents’ concerns about what is currently a major source of inconvenience. I also hope that they will look into extending the opening ours so that people do not get caught out trying to get rid of recycling or green waste in the middle of the afternoon.

“I do however question the Council’s decision to close the site for two weeks at a time when they have finished their green bag collections for the year. There are other facilities on Factory Lane and Fisher’s Farm, but this closure will still prove inconvenient for many. Two weeks seems a long time to take to simply reorganise the layout of the site.

“My major concern now is that the Council listens to the thousands of people who wrote to them opposing the plans for a gyspy and traveller site in the area.”