Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) has announced plans to develop a new £8 million household waste recycling centre (HWRC) for the Bridport area.

Plans for the new centre, which would support the new ‘Recycle for Dorset’ collection service, have now been submitted to Dorset County Council’s planning committee and comprise a modern, split-level HWRC and a waste transfer station to house recycling and rubbish before it is sent for recycling, treatment or disposal. It is hoped that roof solar panels would power the site buildings.

A decision on whether the plans can go ahead are expected on 26 July.

If approved, the facility would be located at Broomhills off the A35 west of Bridport and could potentially be in operation by May 2015.

The site would be the first waste facility to open in the area since 1998, following Bridport HWRC’s opening on South Street. The current Bridport site was originally opened on a temporary basis and is in need of replacement due to being ‘restricted in terms of its size, opening times and the materials that can be taken there due to its town centre location’.

According to the DWP, the new centre will offer a range of benefits for local residents, including: full weekend opening times; greater accessibility; less lorries travelling through Bridport; and a larger range of accepted materials, such as wood and glass.

The DWP hopes to keep the current South Street HRC site open while the new centre is being built if planning is approved.

Hilary Cox, Chair of the DWP Joint Committee, said: “Local people have been following the search for a new waste management centre for Bridport over many years and will, I’m sure, be relieved to see it nearing a conclusion. A modern facility has been designed to help meet the needs of the local area and increase our recycling while blending in with the outstanding local environment.”

Read more about ‘Recycle for Dorset’.