Purpose

Approve a section 101 agreement with Dudley
Metropolitan Borough Council for South Staffordshire residents to
use the Stourbridge HWRC for 6 months.

Content

The decision is to enter into a section 101
agreement with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council to allow
residents in specified post codes within South Staffordshire in the
catchment area of Wombourne HWRC to use the Stourbridge HWRC,
Dudley. 494 appointments will be made available per week for a 26
week period. The agreement runs from the 24th May 2024 to the 21st
November 2024

Alternative options considered

The closure of Wombourne HWRC was immediate
and alternative service provision to supplement the offer has been
explored for residents of South Staffordshire.

Mitigations considered

1) Direct all residents to Bilbrook HWRC

The second HWRC site in South Staffordshire can accommodate
increased demand, this would ensure we are fulfilling our statutory
obligations, however, there would be greater distance to travel for
residents in the South of South Staffordshire.

2) Partial opening of the Wombourne site

This option is being explored. A part of the Wombourne site (the
southern section) is different in surface construct than the rest
of the site. It may be possible to open the Southern section of the
site in advance of any future works on the whole site. If this is
the case the offer will be reduced in terms of waste streams and
access. In this agreement with Dudley MBC to use the Stourbridge
site, the available visits is broken into two parts; a fixed amount
(294 visits for Staffordshire residents in defined postcodes that
fall in the Wombourne HWRC catchment) and a variable amount (a
further 200 visits). This gives flexibility if a limited offer is
able to be made available at the Wombourne HWRC site.

3) Use of HWRCs in neighbouring authorities for Staffordshire

There are HWRC sites in closer proximity to Wombourne than Bilbrook
HWRC. One of these is at Stourbridge, Dudley. Dudley MBC operate a
booking system. On securing agreement with Dudley, access to a
limited number of appointments/visits can be made available to
South Staffordshire residents in postcodes in the catchment of
Wombourne HWRC. Other Authorities were approached, but none had
capacity available to support.

4) Use of other land in the vicinity of the Wombourne HWRC

Alternative options have been explored in terms of provision in
this area, however, conditions required to host a HWRC and
permitting has meant options are limited to privately owned land.
No alternative viable site has been identified to date.