A once-controversial scheme to limit visits to household tips in much of West Sussex is being eased — though some restrictions will remain.
The county council says its rationing of bookings at Bognor, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham and Worthing was a trial scheme, with the aim of queuing at peak times.
It had been introduced during the pandemic, to initial loud public dissent from some writers on social media, after congestion became evident on some major roads near household waste reclamation centres.
But this week, West Sussex County Council has said the trial has "fully met" its objective to reduce congestion, and it's also claiming the scheme has "proved popular".
The authority has cited users who've said "the system is easy to use", and who have reportedly "appreciated not having to queue for long" to get on site.
Site staff have also been quoted as being "very positive" about the scheme which has smoothed out use through the day.
However, the council admits the restriction of one visit per week has been a drawback for some users.
On Tuesday, the authority said there will be a change to the current limit of one visit per household per week, to allow for five bookings to be made within any calendar month.
This will increase the number of permitted visits per household from 52 to 60 across the year.
Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change said:
"One of the biggest factors that people have spoken to us about is the occasional need to visit a site several times in quick succession, and not needing to return for several weeks or even months.
"This refinement will commence from the start of June, although we ask users to continue to try and make as few trips as possible.
"We have noticed that since the trial started that users are generally bringing more things in per trip which is good for the environment and reducing traffic.
"However, there is still only a limited number of slots available each day, so we continue to advise people to book at least a day or two in advance where possible.
"We also would ask that if users decide they don't need a booked slot, they cancel it as soon as possible which is very easily done online.
"This ensures that more people can use the site at their preferred time."
West Sussex County Council has pledged to review all aspects of the trial in the autumn, after it has run for the initial planned six months.
For more information on the trial, please visit https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/BookToRecycle
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