Call for Review of Waste Recycling Centre Access in Pembrokeshire County

A call to make access to Pembrokeshire County Council’s waste recycling centres more user-friendly is to be considered by senior councillors.
In a notice of motion submitted to the March 7 meeting of Pembrokeshire County council’s full council, Milford Hubberston county councillor Vivien Stoddart asked that “Pembrokeshire County Council review the booking system for the county’s waste recycling centres to consider how to make access to the facilities more user friendly”.
At the March meeting, members agreed to forward the motion to the council’s Cabinet for consideration at a later date.
There are currently six household waste recycling centres across the county at Haverfordwest, Fishguard, St Davids, Crane Cross, Waterloo and Hermon.
There were fears the St Davids centre was to close as part of cost-saving measures ahead of the council’s 2024-25 budget, which saw council tax rise by 12.5 per cent, down from a previously-mooted 16.3 per cent.
The fear of a potential closure led to a change.org petition calling for it to remain open, started by Richard Davies, which has attracted more than 1,600 signatures to date.
The potential closure was expected to be part of the council’s 2024-’25 budget at the March 7 meeting.
Local councillors were recently informed the centre will now have a 12-month breathing space.
In a letter sent to local county councillors, confirmed by the local authority, Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents Services said: “It is my proposal that this item is given further consideration before being brought back to Cabinet later this year.
“In practical terms, this means that we will continue to operate the WRC at St David’s for the year 2024/5 whilst examination of future options takes place, but I do need to stress that we need to work proactively with the community and city council to find a sustainable model going forward or the facility will remain at risk.”
Cllr Sinnett thanked councillors Bethan Price, Mark Carter and Neil Prior for their “strong advocacy” in calling for the centre to remain open. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​