November 8 2013.

Norman Baker has joined Seaford Town Council in encouraging residents to object to plans that will see the closure of Seaford Recycling Centre. A public meeting has been called on November the 15th at Seaford Baptist Church at 7.00pm, before the town council presents a response to ESCC on  November 17th. 

East Sussex County Council released its updated Waste Strategy Review that sets new targets for waste and recycling up to 2020. As part of the latest document, ESCC is proposing shutting down Seaford Recycling Centre and says it is seeking the views of local residents. The proposal is based on the assumption that much of the recycled waste will be handled by kerb side services, similar to the new service introduced in Wealden District. Lewes District Council is not currently offering the same level of kerb side recycling as Wealden and may also be discouraged from taking up similar scheme in the near future by the disastrous changeover period that Wealden residents have endured.

Seaford Recycling Centre remains one of the most well-used facilities in East Sussex. The county council argues that due to its close proximity to the Newhaven site it is expendable. This case ignores the popularity of the site - Seaford has the fourth highest throughput in East Sussex - and the fact that it is one of the top performing sites for recycling in the region.

Norman says: “I am concerned that ESCC is proposing to cut residents off from a facility that is convenient, popular, and which works well. Seaford is the biggest town in the district and further cuts to town services by the Tory county council are not acceptable. The Tory proposals are based on hypothetical numbers that may not be reached in the near future and rely on Lewes District Council making major changes to the way it deals with rubbish collection.

“I want to see Seaford services protected and the recycling centre should remain running in its current form at least until suitable replacement kerb-side services are operating locally. I urge local people who value this site to make their views known to the council.”

An electronic copy of the petition against the closure can be found at the East Sussex County Council e-petition website at http://epetition.eastsussex.public-i.tv/epetition_core/community/petition/2462

Paper petitions are available to sign at the Recyling Centre, at most Seaford newsagents and anyone wanting a copy of the petition can contact Seaford Councillor Sam Adeniji at sam4seaford@yahoo.co.uk