Somerset Council has confirmed that there are no immediate plans to close the household waste recycling centre in Cheddar, nearly two years after initial proposals suggested a possible closure.
In January 2024, the council proposed closing five of the county’s 16 recycling centres to save £963,000 as part of broader budget-saving measures for the 2024/25 financial year. However, following consultations, the final revenue budget approved in February 2024 removed any fixed commitments to close or reduce services at specific sites.
The Cheddar recycling centre, located just south of Wedmore Road near the village’s leisure centre, Kings Academy, and the recently opened section of the Strawberry Line active travel route, will remain open with its current operating hours for the foreseeable future. Any future changes to the site would be subject to a full public consultation.
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The matter was raised during a Somerset Council executive committee meeting in Taunton on December 3 by Graham Godwin-Pearson, a local resident and former Conservative councillor for Axevale ward. He inquired whether the council had plans to close the Cheddar facility and, if so, the expected timeline.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, responded that no decision has been made to close the Cheddar site. He emphasized that any proposals for closure would undergo full public consultation before any decisions are finalized. “For the avoidance of doubt, no decision has been made to close Cheddar recycling centre,” Wilkins stated.
While the draft budget proposals issued ahead of the committee meeting do not mention changes to the county’s recycling centres, they do outline plans for additional charges. These include fees for new garden waste collections, expected to generate £155,000 in the 2026/27 financial year, and new charges for holiday let owners equating to commercial waste collection rates, potentially raising £130,000 annually over the next two years.
The council aims to finalize its budget for the 2026/27 financial year by mid-February 2026, with continued attention to balancing fiscal responsibility while maintaining essential services like recycling.