Dorset Council to pay thousands for using Hampshire tip

About 20,000 Dorset households live within five miles of Somerley tip

Dorset Council is proposing paying two neighbouring authorities hundreds of thousands of pounds to allow residents to continue using their rubbish tips.

Somerley Recycling Centre, near Ringwood, is in Hampshire but used by thousands of Dorset households.

Earlier this year Hampshire warned it would start charging Dorset residents an entry fee to use the tip.

A Dorset Council report recommends providing extra funding to maintain free access for local people.

A similar deal is also being proposed to allow residents to use three tips in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council area - at Millhams, Nuffield and Christchurch.

The authority said it would also investigate how many residents from outside its area used Dorset recycling centres to "help inform future strategy".

In July, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said 20,000 Dorset households lived within a five-mile radius of the Somerley site.

At the time, LDRS said Dorset Council's place scrutiny committee was told the estimated the bill for those households would be about £285,000 a year.

Dorset Council said cabinet members would be asked to approve additional funding when they meet on 5 November but did not reveal how much.

The report to the cabinet, due to be published next week, will also recommend investigating the creation of a new recycling and waste transfer facility in the east of the county, the council said.

Councillor Tony Alford, portfolio holder for customer, community and regulatory services, said: "Through better cross-border working with both Hampshire county and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils we can maintain current arrangements which are convenient for local residents, better for the environment and help alleviate pressure on our other household recycling centres."