A CITY recycling centre will remain closed despite calls for it to reopen, the council has said.

Hallow Road Recycling Centre in Worcester has not yet reopened despite Worcestershire County Council agreeing to open the city's other recycling centre in Bilford Road on Monday (May 11).

Labour county councillor Richard Udall had called for Hallow Road to reopen to ease pressure and congestion at the Bilford Road site as well as prevent fly tipping and bonfires.

Worcestershire County Council said it is looking at ways of reopening Hallow Road but the increased restrictions and social distancing measures meant more staff would be needed.

Long queues greeted the reopening of Bilford Road when it reopened for the first time in months, earlier this week.

The council reminded residents to only make essential trips to recycling centres.

Cllr Udall said: "St John's Household Recycling Centre at Hallow Road, serves over 30,000 people, many households use it on a regular basis, they are now being expected to drive unnecessary long distances to other sites, adding to queues, causing traffic congestion and adding to the pressure.

"A phased managed re-opening, with a pre-booked time slot would help to reduce queues and would enable the site to be managed safely, not allowing more than two cars to enter within the same time slot.

"The county council need to be a bit more imaginative to think of solutions, simply saying no is no longer adequate, people are getting desperate to good rid of their rubbish.

"Fly tipping in many local beauty spots has become a concern, I have also received complaints about the number of garden bonfires, we need to look at other options to slowly return to normal".

Cllr Tony Miller, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: “We successfully opened seven out of 11 of the household recycling centres across the county this week with strict social distancing measures and restrictions in place to keep visitors and staff safe.

“To achieve this additional staff are required. While we assess how these new measures are working, we are also planning how we can open the remaining household recycling centres.

“Please don’t forget these sites are only open for use where the waste cannot be safely stored at home, so where possible please continue to reduce the amount of waste you are creating."