New £1.65m Sheringham recycling centre set for bigger reuse area thanks to local feedback

Councillors are set to hear the latest news next week on plans to replace Wymondham and Sheringham recycling centres with larger and more accessible sites fit for the future. Both projects are making good progress, with feedback from local people key to helping shape the design of both the sites.

Two-hundred and thirty-three people took part in a month-long consultation on the design and layout of the proposed Sheringham site, after initial plans were revealed in July this year.

People in the Wymondham and Attleborough areas will be getting a chance to have their say when a consultation on their new site opens next week, Monday 14 November.

Councillor Eric Vardy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, said: "I'm pleased at the excellent progress so far on these two significant projects that will help support our aim to cut waste by increasing reuse and recycling in the county.

"I'd like to thank everyone who gave us their views on our initial designs for the new recycling centre for the Sheringham area. It was great to hear what local people wanted to see at their new site, and as a result of the feedback we've made the area set aside for reuse even larger, to allow even more good quality second hand items to find a new home!

"I'd urge people in the Wymondham and Attleborough areas to take a look at the plans for their new site when they are revealed next week, and let us know what they think, as your feedback really can make a difference."

The initial designs of both sites took into account feedback from earlier consultations around importance of reuse, plenty of parking and easy vehicle flow through the site.

Cllr Judy Oliver, County Councillor for the Sheringham division (where the new recycling centre would be located), said: 'I am delighted at the progress of this project and I am very pleased that the consultation so effectively engaged with local residents and we could take a range of views into account."

Councillors will hear an update on both the Wymondham and Sheringham recycling centre replacement projects, and on the wider work of the waste and recycling team, at the Infrastructure and Development Select Committee meeting on Wednesday 16 November. View all the papers for the meeting. 

For more information on both the projects visit: www.norfolk.gov.uk/wasteprojects 

The consultation on the new Wymondham Recycling Centre runs from 14 November to 12 December 2022. Once it's live people will be able to find a link to respond to the consultation via  www.norfolk.gov.uk/wasteprojects  and there will also be a drop-in event on Wednesday, 23 November from 3pm to 6.30pm, at Spooner Row Village Hall, Station Lane, Wymondham, NR18 9JR 

Sheringham area recycling centre: The Sheringham area recycling centre consultation ran from 1-31 July 2022, and had 233 responses. There was an exhibition at Sheringham Library from 1-12 July, and a drop in event at the Holway Road Community Centre in Sheringham on Wednesday 13 July from 2.30-6.30pm.

The consultation feedback has been used to further refine the proposed layout. Key refinements have included moving the main material streams, including green waste and general waste, to the side with more parking bays, which will improve accessibility to those containers, increasing the footprint of the reuse area and further development of the proposed landscaping plans.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to the County Council during November 2022, and subject to the planning process, work on the new site is expected to start in 2023. 

Wymondham and Attleborough area recycling centre: A new recycling centre for Wymondham is planned to replace the existing site, which is very small with a single-track access road. Due to proposed housing growth around Wymondham and Attleborough, we're proposing to build a bigger site that is more accessible.

A new site to replace the Wymondham Recycling Centre has been identified at Spooner Row on land off the A11 and B1172, and adjacent to a National Highways depot. Land negotiations have been progressed and surveys carried out across the site and a public consultation on the new site, which will share the concept layout of the new site, will be held from 14 November to 12 December 2022. 

Other recycling centre improvements:

• Norwich North Recycling Centre and Norwich South Recycling Centre opened in 2021 and include large, purpose-built reuse shops
• A new recycling centre for the Long Stratton area, to replace the current site at Morningthorpe
• A new site for the North Walsham area to replace the existing Worstead Recycling Centre, providing a larger, more modern site with reuse facility by 2025