Urgent changes are being made to the way people visit the Somerley Waste Recycling Centre.
Residents called for a fresh look at the way it operates after visitors to the centre continuously queuing on the narrow B3081 carriageway to gain access, despite a notice telling motorists not to.
Hampshire County Council, which runs the tip, says it is aware of the traffic issues resulting from large queues for the Somerley HRC.
Some people are reporting a wait of over an hour when dropping off waste, which according to official Government advice, should only be done by those unable to store waste safely at home, with only one visit per week allowed.
Only three cars are currently being allowed in at once.
Well done to everyone blocking the road just to go to the tip #COVIDIOTS @hantshighways @RecycleHants @HantsRoadSafety @BBC_Hampshire @hantsconnect @HantsPolice pic.twitter.com/JYlX04I3pD
— Ringwood Traffic Alerts (@RingwoodTraffic) May 22, 2020
Councillor Toni Coombs from Verwood Town Council said: “To resolve this, HCC will shortly be implementing a gate closure system at the entrance to the access road when queues reach the main road. They will then have staff on-site waving away anyone queueing on the highway – this should avoid the traffic accumulations on the main road.”
Other changes include extending the opening hours to 6pm starting today (Friday) to help spread demand over more hours.
The Hampshire Household Waste Recycling Centres ‘queue cams’ website is currently offline for maintenance.
Council employees will wave people away. The people will sit in their cars and ignore them, the employees don’t have police powers.