Plans for a new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)

We have designed the site with significant off-road space to ensure you can drive straight in rather than waiting on the public highway. There may be a time when you have to queue but these will be less frequent and for a much shorter period. 

The Goose House Lane site was chosen because it is one of the few locations in the borough with the necessary space to build a modern, high-capacity facility. By consolidating our resources into one “super-site,” we can offer 7-day-a-week access and a much wider range of recycling options that simply cannot fit into the smaller legacy sites. Furthermore, the Goose House Lane site was identified by independent consultants as the most efficient location to serve the entire borough’s population, sitting centrally between our two main urban areas. 

While the physical distance may be slightly further for some Blackburn residents, the “total journey time” is often shorter. The new site is designed to eliminate the two biggest causes of delays at our current sites. The site’s proximity to the M65 corridor ensures that nearly 100% of all households—including those in Blackburn—are within the 15-minute ‘gold standard’ for excellent accessibility. 

Our independent data confirms that over 90% of households in the borough remain within a 15-minute drive of the new location. When you factor in the faster “turnaround time” once you arrive at the site, most residents will find their total recycling trip takes less time than it does currently.

There is no objective evidence to suggest that moving to a higher-quality, purpose-built facility increases fly-tipping. National research indicates that fly-tipping is primarily a criminal activity carried out by unlicensed “man-with-a-van” operators, rather than law-abiding residents. By providing a site that is open 7 days a week with faster turnaround times, we are making it easier, not harder, for residents to dispose of waste responsibly. The inclusion of a Reuse Shop and an onsite Waste Transfer Station also creates new legal routes for disposal and commercial waste opportunities that the current sites lack. 

 Our fly-tipping enforcement team remains a top priority for the borough. We will continue to operate a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy, using CCTV and targeted investigations to prosecute offenders. Furthermore, the new site will include a “Reuse Shop,” providing a low-cost way for residents to dispose of functional items that might otherwise be dumped.

 The new facility at Goose House Lane has been designed with an extensive “internal stacking” road. This means that even during peak periods, vehicles will be safely contained within the site boundaries rather than queuing on public roads. With 7-day-opening and a split-level design that eliminates closures for skip-swaps, the “bottlenecks” that typically frustrate users will be removed. 

The new facility is built on Universal Design principles to ensure everyone can use it independently. By using a split-level layout, we have removed all stairs and steps. This allows for ‘level-access’ disposal directly from your vehicle into skips at waist height, removing the need for heavy lifting over high rails. 

This is a major £7.7 million investment in our borough’s infrastructure. While it will generate long-term savings through improved recycling rates and lower management fees, the primary driver is replacing ‘legacy’ sites that are no longer fit for purpose. Our goal is to increase the borough’s recycling rate from 45% to at least 70%. 

The proposal was assessed under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations 2017, which determined there would be no significant negative environmental effects. By increasing recycling rates and reducing the amount of waste sent to expensive landfill, the new centre is a core part of our vision for a cleaner, greener borough.