COUNCIL LEADER DAVID WRIGHT ENDORSES MINISTER'S CALL TO REOPEN CIVIC TIPS

ATHERSTONE'S twin council leader says he will be "having a conversation" with county colleagues in a bid to see civic tips reopened as soon as is practical and safe.

Councillor David Wright's call comes after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced he had written to local authorities across the UK telling them to plan to get recycling centres operational again.

The town's two closest household waste recycling centres at Lower House Farm, Dordon and Judkins on Tuttle Hill, Nuneaton, have been closed since March 24 following Government restrictions due to coronavirus.

Cllr Wright – who heads up Atherstone Town Council and North Warwickshire Borough Council – said he wanted to see the recycling centres re-opened and would be "in dialogue" with Warwickshire County Council which runs the service.

Mr Jenrick told the Commons yesterday: "Our bin men and women have done a fantastic job maintaining the vast majority of collections,"

"I'm asking councils to plan the organised re-opening of household waste collection sites. "I expect this to happen over the coming weeks and will be publishing amended guidance shortly." The Local Government Association has said: "The Government has now indicated that they want councils to re-open their centres and local authorities have already begun preparations to do just that in the coming weeks. "This will not be without its challenges – requiring social distancing measures, traffic management and co-ordination across the country. "Most importantly, there needs to be clear guidance to both the police and the public as to what constitutes an essential journey to a household waste recycling centre during lockdown." The 'thanks' from households in the town and surrounding villages for the efforts of North Warwickshire's bin men and women has been self-evident with a "wall of gratitude" covering the Atherstone-based local authority's Waste Services' offices. A depleted refuse workforce has been keeping main and recycling collections going as "best they can" after the borough council had to suspend the green bin service until early May, blaming the decision on "many key staff" being unable to work through having to self-isolate and changes to working practices. On Monday, and seen as a fightback against Covid-19, Nub News revealed the green bin collection service was being restored – starting from next Monday.