Plans are being drawn up for a new exit gate at North Luffenham Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) to allow vehicles to move in and out of the site more freely.

The HWRC is currently the only site for disposal of household waste and

recycling in Rutland because current coronavirus restrictions mean Rutland County Council can not safely reopen its Cottesmore site.

North Luffenham HWRC is currently operating six days a week -Tuesday to Sunday - with dedicated traffic management operatives and a temporary one-way system restricting the use of Glebe Road during site operating hours.

While the council has been successful in managing the flow of traffic to and from the site since it reopened in May, it is keen to remove the temporary one-way system so that Glebe Road can return to normal use.

The construction of a separate and dedicated exit gate has been identified as the best way to do this – supporting effective site operations in both the short and long-term.

North Luffenham HWRC is currently served by a single gate for two-way traffic.

The proposal is to create a new, dedicated exit for vehicles to leave the site, allowing one way in and one way out.

Councillor Gordon Brown, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services at RCC, said: "North Luffenham HWRC is currently open six days a week with

extensive traffic management and social distancing restrictions in place to ensure safe and effective operations.

"Because Cottesmore HWRC is a relatively small site, even allowing for the recent relaxation of social distancing requirements, it is not possible to move significant numbers of vehicles in and out of the site at any one time.

"Serious safety concerns remain around the possibility of traffic queueing outside Cottesmore HWRC.

"North Luffenham is different because the layout of the surrounding road network has allowed us to create a safe method of queuing, with the aid of a temporary one-way system on Glebe Road.

"We are now looking at how minimal improvements can be made to North Luffenham HWRC in order to return Glebe Road to full use, while continuing to manage the site safely and effectively.

"Regrettably, such improvements are not possible at Cottesmore because of the size, layout and location of the site."

RCC is preparing a planning application for the addition of a new exit

gate.

If approved, it hopes to start work on the site by November and will review the current restrictions on trailers accessing North Luffenham HWRC once the new exit is installed.

North Luffenham HWRC would continue to operate six days a week while work takes place.