PARLIAMENTARY candidates in York have called on the council to reverse its cuts to opening hours at city recycling centres.

The Liberal Democrat candidates bidding to become MPs for the York Central and York Outer seats, Alan Page and Andrew Hollyer, have called on City of York Council to revert Hazel Court and Towthorpe recycling centres to their former opening hours.

The changes to Hazel Court recycling centre came into effect on May 6, introducing reduced opening hours along with a full closure on Wednesdays. The opening hours at Towthorpe were also reduced between April and September.

The Press reported how trader Dominic Shortle, who owns Fully Furnished in James Street, was concerned about the impact the new hours were having on traffic outside his business.

City of York Council said the decisions were made as part of ongoing cost-cutting efforts.

Now, the Lib Dem candidates have launched a petition calling on the council to reopen Hazel Court on Wednesdays and return to the later closing time of 7pm at both sites between April and September.

York Press: Andrew Hollyer at TowthorpeAndrew Hollyer at Towthorpe (Image: Supplied)

Mr Page said: "This has been a bad decision for the residents of York and a bad decision for our environment.

"Not only will it potentially lead to less waste being recycled, but as has been widely reported in the media it has added to the volume of traffic in the James Street area at busy times

“Labour in York has a poor record when it comes to recycling. The last time they ran the council they closed the recycling centre on Beckfield Lane in Acomb."

Mr Hollyer added: "Residents from across the city and its suburbs and villages rely on being able to use the tip at a time that suits them, and the decision to close at 6pm rather than 7pm makes it much more difficult for people to get there due to early evening work and childcare commitments."

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The council's executive member for environment, and Labour politician, Cllr Jenny Kent said: "Opening hours at both the city’s household waste recycling sites now align with North Yorkshire and provide ample opportunities for residents to continue to recycle, including on weekends for those who work daytime hours during the week. 

"We are monitoring traffic flows and are confident this will ease as people become used to the changes. Current opening hours are a careful and considered response to huge real terms funding reductions from Conservatives in Government over more than a decade.

“Occasional traffic congestion on James Street has occurred during natural peaks in resident visits for several years, including under previous Liberal Democrat council administrations who didn’t consider it a problem that required action at the time.

"We are keen to increase recycling but as York Liberal Democrats found when they abandoned their last recycling target of 50 per cent for York, behaviour change is a challenge; rates fell over their time in office to just over 41 per cent in 2023.

"We are launching a campaign in September to boost recycling rates which aims to reverse that."