The site for Bath Recycling Centre is an existing Bath & North East Somerset Council depot on the Locksbrook Road Trading Estate to the west of the city centre. The northern boundary of the site is formed by Locksbrook Road itself with a car dealership directly opposite, while to the south lies the Bristol and Bath Railway Path with the River Avon beyond.
The site is currently used as a depot by Bath & North East Somerset Council for its Street Cleansing operations. Vehicles and staff are located at this site, along with bays for the street cleaning waste, whilst another part of the site is leased to a local car dealership for vehicle storage.
The council is committed to replacing the existing facility at Midland Road in the Bath Riverside area, which has planning permission for housing development. With the declaration of the climate emergency the council developed a new consolidated Keynsham Recycling Hub. Alongside the new Keynsham Recycling Hub, a new central recycling facility is needed to serve residents of the city, particularly those in central and eastern Bath for whom Keynsham may not be readily accessible. An exhaustive site search was undertaken across Bath and Locksbrook Road was found to be the most suitable. The recycling facility at Midland Road was identified for redevelopment as part of the Bath Western Riverside Area plan adopted in 2008 and has planning permission for redevelopment.
The council is committed to providing continued household recycling facilities for city residents, to complement the new facility at the Keynsham Recycling Hub, and to serve residents of the city, particularly those in central and eastern Bath for whom Keynsham or Welton Recycling Centre may not be readily accessible.
The Council’s Waste Service Team has undertaken extensive searches for feasible and available sites for a recycling centre in Bath, over a number of years with assistance from external consultants, assessing over 50 sites of various sizes within and around Bath. All site searches set the assessment stages, criteria and scoring matrix at the start. For example, these are the high-level criteria (with sub-categories) used in the last major site review in 2021:
- Planning constraint and practicality considerations
- Access, transport and air quality considerations
- Environmental considerations
- Social considerations
Finding a suitable site in Bath has been challenging given the peripheral Green Belt constraint around the city and a lack of suitable and available sites. Two formal site searches were undertaken in 2019 and 2021. Most of the sites identified were in third party ownership which would have either required a compulsory purchase or negotiation linked to open market values: NB. sites that become available on the open market have to compete with other higher value uses. Further appraisal work was carried out on the highest-ranking sites but unfortunately no site was deemed either technically and/or financially suitable.
In 2022/23 the Council reviewed all surplus and under-utilised sites in Bath under Council ownership including those that had been previously evaluated whether occupied or leased to see whether, at this point, any location could be delivered from a technical and financial point of view. This process identified the availability of the subject site at Locksbrook Road and changing circumstances also enabled the relocation of the Cleansing Team operation to a nearby site. Further analysis confirmed that the Locksbrook Road site now met deliverability criteria. Council members then approved a detailed feasibility study which then led to a process of pre-application, public engagement and planning approval in April 2025.
The existing service users are the council's Street Cleansing team and they will be moving to an alternative nearby site on Locksbrook Road which previously housed B&NES Fleet Workshops and MOT test centre. This site will house the vehicles and staff welfare facilities only, as street sweepings and litter will continue to be handled at the new recycling centre site as before.
The new recycling centre will accept the most commonly disposed of items:
- Residual household waste
- Cardboard (including items too large for kerbside collection)
- Soft furnishings
- Bulky Waste
- Garden Waste
- Wood
- Scrap metal and large electrical items such as washing machines and other white goods, except fridges, freezers, TVs and computer monitors
- Dry recyclables (plastic, paper, cans, glass etc)
The number of materials which will be accepted at the new recycling centre will be the most popular material types brought to the Midland Road Public Recycling site . There are many items which can be collected from home by weekly recycling collections such as small electricals and car batteries. For more information on kerbside collections visit https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/green-recycling-box. For bulky items there is a collection service available https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/order-large-waste-item-collection.
The new recycling centre will have parking and waiting for 16 cars, including dedicated disabled parking. There will also be dedicated cycle and pedestrian accesses, from Locksbrook Road and from the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, with dedicated cycle stands for unloading.
Items that are not accepted at Bath Recycling Centre can be taken to Keynsham Recycling Hub or to Midsomer Norton Recycling Centre. Specifically:
- DIY (including hardcore and rubble, soil and plasterboard)
- Hazardous waste (including asbestos, chemicals, gloss and solvent based paints)
- Tyres
- Cooking oil
- Fire extinguishers
- Fridges, freezers, TVs, computer monitors
- Gas bottles
- Low energy lightbulbs & tubes
Most residents can recycle the following from their regular kerbside collection. Check the website for restrictions / changes.
What can go in your green box
https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/green-recycling-box
What can go in your blue bag
https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/blue-recycling-bag
What can go in your food waste bin
https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/food-waste
The site will be accessed via entrances on Locksbrook Road. Separate public and operational access points will be provided, improving efficiency and safety when the centre is in operation. In addition to these vehicular accesses, there will also be a dedicated pedestrian access from Locksbrook Road, as well as pedestrian/cycle access from the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.
The recycling centre will operate a pre-booking system. This will ensure that only a defined number of vehicles will be able to access the centre at any given time, which will keep vehicles moving freely in and out of the site and prevent queueing. The booking system will be monitored to ensure that it is working well and updated if necessary. The number of drop off parking bays and waiting bays is greater than at Midland Road which will also ensure traffic does not build up in and around the site. Separate public and operational vehicle access points will ensure operational vehicles will no longer block traffic to the site as sometimes occurred at Midland Road. Traffic surveys have been undertaken at the key junctions in the local area with the operation of these junctions being assessed for the existing and proposed traffic flow conditions – see the Transport Assessment submitted with the planning application. The results confirm that there will be little traffic impact and that the assessed junctions will continue to operate broadly as at present.
The scheme will create an additional public vehicle access and therefore this will remove some parking spaces along the roadway outside the site. The scheme will have to apply for a TRO (legal process) to facilitate this.
A local car dealership currently stores cars on part of the site under a lease agreement. The landowner, Bath & North East Somerset Council has advised the dealership of the emerging plans to provide sufficient time to explore alternative arrangements for when departure from the site is required for the development of the recycling centre to commence.
The proposed site for the recycling centre occupies a highly sustainable location and will be readily accessible by active travel means. Dedicated cycle and pedestrian access points are proposed from both Locksbrook Road on the northern side of the site, and the Bristol and Bath Railway Path on the southern boundary. There will also be dedicated cycle stands within the site for unloading.
The recycling containers will be accessed by a gantry with steps and a ramped access route from where items can be placed in the containers. The incorporation of ramped access into the design is intended to ease access to the containers for those with mobility challenges, while additional support will be provided by site staff to customers who have heavy items. Waste services have undertaken an Equalities Impact Assessment which can be found here.
The new recycling centre will have parking for 16 cars, including dedicated disabled parking located close to the bottom of the ramp.
B&NES staff receive training on working with disabled customers and understand not all disabilities are visible. Staff will be available to help and support disabled customers when requested or where it’s appropriate to do so. There is a disabled parking bay near the entrance.
Waste services have undertaken an Equalities Impact Assessment which can be found here.
Meeting the aims of the council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency policies is at the forefront of the proposed new recycling centre.
The planning application included an Ecology Assessment and Biodiversity Net Gain metric and summary document which described how the site will deliver in excess of the national requirements of habitat units with native planting. Due to the scheme’s proximity to the River Avon, BNG watercourse units will also be required. This cannot be delivered within the scheme or adjacent river so watercourse units will be purchased from a nearby approved scheme. The scheme has also been designed to avoid impacts onto the adjacent river through careful location of lighting to avoid light spill onto the river and ensure there is no impact on bats for example.
Active travel will be promoted, with easy access for cycles both from the Bristol and Bath Railway Path along the riverside, with cycle stands for unloading provided within the site. There will also be a dedicated pedestrian access from Locksbrook Road.
There is very little vegetation within the site at present but where possible this will remain unaffected. We have specialist ecology, tree and landscape consultants working with us to show how biodiversity and vegetation can be provided or enhanced.
Ecology surveys have been undertaken at the site. Whilst the site itself is of low ecological value, it is in close proximity to the River Avon Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI), which is an important wildlife corridor, in particular for commuting and foraging bats.
The scheme has been designed to avoid impacts onto the adjacent river through careful location of lighting to avoid light spill onto the river and ensure there is no impact on bats and other wildlife.
The scheme will also include areas of native planting which will deliver an overall net gain for biodiversity.
The layout of the centre is being designed with careful consideration of the site’s proximity to the River Avon. The centre will primarily be taking recycling in collection skips. The planning application demonstrated all appropriate measures required to deal with the risks posed by future flood events and we are working with consultants to ensure the Environment Agency and Local Flood Authority requirements are met. The Environment Agency permit requires the production of a flood evacuation plan and a flood management plan for the new scheme (one already exists for the existing Cleansing operations on site). The recycling centre scheme has been designed with metal gantries and movable collection containers to the east of the site rather than permanent structures. In the event of a flood event warning it is envisaged that the site will be closed to the public and all containers will be removed to the new state-of-the-art central recycling hub at Keynsham Recycling Centre.
There will be no adverse impact on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path. A dedicated access into the centre will be provided for pedestrian and cycles from the Path. Locksbrook Road itself will also be unaffected as a cycle and pedestrian route.
The proposed sustainable travel route (Policy ST2) to the north of the site and across the Locksbrook Railway Bridge is being retained and will be unaffected by the proposals.
To monitor the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, diffusion tubes are currently sited at several locations along Upper Bristol Road and one location on Newbridge Road, these can be viewed at: https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/nitrogen-dioxide-monitoring-data. Since monitoring began at these locations in 2019, the sites have shown continual decreases with concentrations for 2023 lower than the annual average objective of 40 µg/m3. These sites remain in place into 2024.
An Air Quality Assessment was carried out for the planning application submission which can be viewed here.
- Air Quality & Odour Assessment
- Lighting Assessment
- Noise Assessment
The noise assessment has acknowledged that noise will increase from the site but that this will be during the working day when ambient noise levels are already higher. It has also identified a number of measures which can be taken such as noise barriers and using skips with plastic wheels.
The Air Quality and Odour Assessment Report states the impact of traffic from the site on pollution levels will be ‘negligible’ and the impact of odour will be ‘insignificant’ and overall ‘that air quality and odour does not pose a constraint to the proposed development, either during construction or once operational’.
There will be no waste processing, nor any dedicated food waste collection facility and no refuse trucks will be stored at Locksbrook Road. However, in response to concerns raised, skip covers can be used to reduce both odours and the risk of vermin and a Gull Management Strategy has been included in the application submission.
You said you were worried that traffic will queue outside the site waiting to get in
During July 2024 we monitored visitors to Midland Road and found that only 10% of users arrived without a booking. The booking system can be changed so that only a defined number of vehicles will enter the site per time slot allowing for +/- 10% and to manage traffic flows at different times of the day. Midland Road recycling centre is a very constrained site and manoeuvring issues sometimes cause blockages and occasionally users have to be held back while an HGV collects a full skip. These issues will not occur at the Locksbrook Rd site because the car park is larger and easier to navigate and operational vehicles use a separate entrance.
The booking system has a maximum number of 14 bookings per 15 minute time slot and there is room for 16 vehicles within the site. The average time spent unloading is less than 10 minutes so queuing is not at all likely. Finally, we will fund an additional member of staff at the gate who will enforce the booking system and also help customers with mobility issues or heavy items.
You said you were concerned about potential odours and pests from the recycling centre
An Air Quality and Odour Assessment has been carried out which shows that impact of odour from the site will be ‘insignificant’ which is largely because there is no waste processing at the site nor any dedicated food waste collection facility and no refuse trucks will be stored at Locksbrook Road, as happened at Midland Road. However, in response to concerns raised, skip covers can be used to reduce both odours and the risk of vermin. Skips will also be changed frequently meaning waste will not be stored on the site for long. It is worth noting that the EA permit application process will require the site to adequately demonstrate that it has identified odour factors and taken all possible mitigation measures.
You said you were concerned about potential noise from the recycling centre
The layout has been designed so that the operational area is furthest from the existing residential properties. The EA permitting system will require a detailed description of all the mitigations relating to environmental factors. The noise assessment has acknowledged that noise will increase from the site but that this will be during the working day when noise levels area already higher. It has also identified a number of measures which can be taken such as noise barriers and using skips with plastic wheels.
You said you were worried about deteriorating air quality in the area caused by traffic fumes
The Air Quality and Odour Assessment Report states the impact of traffic from the site on pollution levels will be ‘negligible’. The council measures concentrations of nitrogen dioxide with diffusion tubes currently sited at several locations along Upper Bristol Road and one location on Newbridge Road, these can be viewed at: https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/nitrogen-dioxide-monitoring-data. Since monitoring began at these locations in 2019, the sites have shown continual decreases with concentrations for 2023 lower than the annual average objective of 40 µg/m3. These sites remain in place into 2024.
You said you were concerned about carrying recyclables up the steps or slope to get them into the skips
The proposed gantry arrangement is commonly used in similar facilities across the country. The project team has visited other sites with similar arrangements to inform the design of the proposed recycling centre. The incorporation of ramped access into the design is intended to ease access to the containers for those with mobility challenges, while additional support will be provided by site staff to customers who use wheelchairs, or those who have heavy items. The new recycling centre will have drop-off parking bays for 16 cars, including dedicated disabled parking located close to the bottom of the ramp.
You said you wanted to see better cycling and walking access to the site
We have widened the footpath into the site from Locksbrook Road and a zebra crossing had been added within the site. There is now also additional cargo bike parking.
Subject to the timeliness and outcomes of the planning process and other key project activities, we envisage an indicative opening date in 2026. With planning approval in April 2025, it is expected that construction could start in the autumn with completion about 8 months later in the summer of 2026. We will be working with our construction contractor to draw up a detailed construction plan.
We recognise the importance of maintaining household recycling provision for city residents and we aim to keep the Midland Road recycling centre open until its replacement is operational, subject to the detailed construction plan.
FAQs about the Midland Road Housing Scheme
The site which was the Waste Depot and recycling centre at Midland Road received full planning approval in 2020 for new affordable and market homes. Once an alternative recycling site has been confirmed, we will start on the first phase of affordable homes for social rent with the remaining affordable and market homes starting once the site has been fully vacated.
The site was allocated in the Local Plan for re-development in 2007 by the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan. It forms part of Bath Western Riverside regeneration scheme.
The council owns the site and it will be developed by Aequus who are a council owned property company which was set up to develop and deliver homes for Bath & North East Somerset Council. The Aequus Group is 100% owned by B&NES and was established in 2016. Profit from schemes comes back to the council as a return to be utilised to support council services (it’s not ring fenced for housing). The current revenue financial return requirement to the shareholder (B&NES) is £1M per annum.
Aequus deliver housing and wider regeneration projects in areas where there is a need which has not been met by the market. By doing so, they help to address local housing pressures.
The site has full planning permission for a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bed homes for market sale and affordable housing. Full details of the scheme including the approved plans can be found here 19/05471/ERES. The site is proposing 25% of the homes will be affordable housing, 39 homes for social rent with the lowest rents and 5 homes for shared ownership where you buy an initial share and pay rent on the rest. These homes will be owned by the Council.
No, the council wants to control the housing delivery to make sure it creates high quality sustainable homes and includes affordable housing.
The site on the Locksbrook Road is in the Flood zone 3 and is not suitable for residential development.
The council works in partnership with Homes England and MHCLG which provide funding support. The government allocates housing grant to enable brownfield land to come forward for housing development through a range of funding programmes and supports the delivery of more affordable homes through the Homes England Affordable Housing Programme.
Once an alternative recycling site has been confirmed, we will start building the first 39 affordable homes for social rent with construction of the remaining affordable and market homes starting once the remainder of the site has been fully vacated.