The facility will replace the existing site located on Blandford Heights Industrial Estate which is difficult for some residents to use and unable to meet the demands of the expanding service operated by Dorset Council.
Construction of the new facility is underway and is progressing well, work is on track to be complete in winter 2026.
The current site is an adapted grain store and in a poor condition.
The small recycling centre accommodates just 14 vehicles at any one time. It has poor accessibility due to steps to some containers and the site closes when full containers are collected adding to congestion on the access road.
The Waste Transfer Barn - where waste collected at the kerbside is gathered up before being taken away to recycling and treatment facilities - shares the same access road as the Household Recycling Centre (HRC) for lorries dropping waste off and taking it away, causing traffic issues for residents. Queuing traffic also causes disruption to neighbouring businesses by blocking access during the busiest periods each day.
The Waste Transfer Barn has no extra space, so there is no possibility for taking different kinds of waste in the future.
The area to the south of Sunrise Business Park was confirmed as the preferred site due to location, accessibility and buildability.
The new site will have an access road from the Blandford Bypass near the Sunrise Business Park roundabout.
After entering the site, there will be a separate area at the HRC for the public to park and unload unwanted items. There would be no need to temporarily close the facility to empty full containers (which happens at the existing site) as our contractors will access the waste containers from the lower yard area.
The proposals also include separate access to the transfer barn for collection and waste transport vehicles. Dorset Council’s waste team has designed and built four replacement sites across the county and used their experience when devising these plans to maximise development potential while limiting the impact on the surrounding natural environment.
The layout and design took into consideration key factors for the useability of the site, whilst remaining sympathetic to its location, such as:
The design substantially draws from the successful Bridport Waste Management Centre which opened in 2015.
See a fly-through of the Proposed Blandford Waste Management Centre.
