Frequently asked questions

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Why are you redeveloping Leatherhead community recycling centre and waste transfer station?

The site is being redeveloped to provide Leatherhead residents with a modern, accessible and user-friendly facility. This is part of Surrey County Council’s county-wide investment programme in waste minimisation, recycling and disposal, supporting its aim of becoming a world leader in dealing with waste.

The redevelopment will have a number of benefits for local residents, including measures to alleviate queuing and improved traffic flows around the site with more parking spaces.

How will the site be improved?

We are proposing to turn the existing Leatherhead site into a modern, efficient recycling centre. The redeveloped site will have a number of improvements which will benefit its users. These include:

  • Separate entrances for the public and site service vehicles to help prevent congestion at the site entrance.
  • Covered walkways along parking bays to shield the public from the weather.
  • Improved parking and roadway to help site users to circulate and reduce queuing.
  • Segregating pedestrians and public vehicles from service vehicles will improve safety on site even further.

These measures should not only help residents to recycle but will provide a more pleasant experience while on site.

Additionally we are looking to redevelop the waste transfer station on site. This includes:

  • A fully enclosed building for municipal waste.
  • Redevelopment of the waste transfer station to allow for greater material capacity.
  • Complete separation of Grundon and Thames Water vehicle access.

When did work start?

The site closed on 9 January 2012 for about eight months. Alternative community recycling centres are at Blenheim Road, Epsom, KT19 9DL and Ranmore Road, Dorking, RH4 1TL. Both sites are around seven miles away. There is also a weighbridge for businesses to use at the Blenheim Road site.

Will this redevelopment help to reduce queuing?

We are aware that queuing can occur at Leatherhead CRC during busy periods. By adding extra parking spaces and creating a ‘bypass’ lane around the site to allow traffic to circulate and exit more freely, we anticipate that these measures should cut down the amount of queuing time experienced by residents waiting to get into and around the site. Additionally, we have separated the public and HGV entrances to further alleviate the public queuing.

Are you planning to accept higher tonnages of waste at the new site?

The site is currently licensed to accept up to 120,000 tonnes of waste per year, and we are not anticipating wastes to increase. However, as part of our commitment to recycling we may add more materials to the list of what is currently accepted at the site as they come on stream.

Will there be odours from the site?

The design of the site will include measures to reduce the potential for any odours. Black bags and food waste will be tipped in a fully enclosed building, to ensure odours are not released outside and will be transferred off site on a daily basis. Green waste will be transferred as soon as a full load is available and no later than three days from deposit, reducing any potential for smell. Operations on site will comply with the site Odour Management Plan which has been approved by the Surrey County Council Planning Authority.

Will the new site be noisy?

All loading machinery is required by law to be equipped with reversing alarms for safety reasons. Currently, all bulk loading activities take place outdoors. However, the new development will mean some of those activities, such as bulking household residual and food waste, would take place within the new building. This will reduce the noise from the site. As part of the planning application we have carried out a full noise assessment, the results of which are available as part of the planning application.

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