Bracknell

Plans to redevelop and significantly improve the Bracknell Longshot Lane civic amenity site have just been given the go-ahead by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.

Queues at the redeveloped site will be cut and capacity enhanced in peak times due to an improved layout, better marshalling and increased onsite car capacity.

The redeveloped Bracknell civic amenity site will be more efficient, with additional covered bays for recycling and a new facility to recover recycled materials from general waste. It also includes better facilities for dealing with kerbside waste and recycling.

There are also plans for a visitors' centre to help school and youth groups understand the wider picture of waste and recycling. Additionally, there will be more flexible storage so the buildings can be adapted to meet changing refuse and recycling needs.

Work is expected to start in spring 2008 and take a year to complete. During the redevelopment buildings on the site will be demolished and rebuilt which will restrict the capacity as well as access to the facilities.

Bracknell Council is working with the contractors on the detail of how the redevelopment will take place and how residents will be served during the periods when there is limited access to the site - as it will also be used for the transfer of domestic refuse and recycling from the ongoing kerbside collections.

The Council understands how much residents value the use of Longshot Lane and therefore will communicate full details to residents before the redevelopment. The Council's website will also be updated regularly with the latest information before work starts and while the redevelopment takes place.

The plans were submitted to Bracknell Council by re3 Limited, the company appointed on a 25 year contract, supported by a private finance initiative between Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and the Waste Recycling Group. re3 was created to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites across the three authorities with the additional benefit of significantly reducing the overall cost of waste disposal in the long term to save our residents' money.

Oliver Burt, re3 Project Manager, said: "The improvement works to Longshot Lane are necessary not just help to cut peak time congestion at the site, but also to meet the borough's future needs for sorting and recycling waste."

Cllr Mrs Dorothy Hayes, Executive Member for the Bracknell Environment, said: "The redevelopment of Longshot Lane will make a real and positive difference to residents.

"We understand the work will cause some inconvenience to residents, and we will be doing everything we can during the works to minimise the disruption caused."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council