Work has begun in South Gloucestershire to construct a new slip road to a recycling centre in Mangotsfield. On-site preparation work commenced on Monday (October 3) at Sort It recycling centre at Carsons Road to reduce traffic queues during busy periods.
South Gloucestershire Council secured planning permission in June to drive forward with its plans for the dedicated road to reduce the impact on the local highway network and make access to the site easier and safer for residents. The council has said that public access to the recycling centre will be maintained wherever possible to minimise disruption.
The council will first have to ensure the work will not disrupt any wildlife by checking for nesting birds and installing reptile fencing around the site. It added that the site will be improved for nature and wildlife, including installing bat and bird boxes, insect hotels, reptile hibernation and basking habitats, planting trees, a new hedgerow and wildflower seeding.
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It will then clear the site ready for drainage and utilities work will start on October 10 on Carsons Road with traffic signals put in place, taking at least eight weeks. Construction of the sliproad is scheduled to begin on October 24 and is expected to finish in February 2023.
The area has become prone to traffic with higher volumes of traffic queueing for the recycling centre. In recent years, the council introduced a registration system to stop people from outside of the area from using the centre and increased the number of parking bays on site.
The slip road is intended to move queuing vehicles off of Carsons Road. The waste and recycling collection vehicles will be required to use the slip road as well and the original entrance will be reserved for HGVs only.
Some people have expressed concern over the plans and how vehicles coming from Mangotsfield Village will join the slip road. The council has advised that cars will need to enter the slip road from the direction of the ring road and use the roundabout on the ring road to turn around or travel to the site via the ring road.
Commenting on the council's plans on Facebook, Terry Cooper said he thought it was a "waste of time". He wrote: "This is going to create more traffic congestion to the roundabout and the ring road and more pollution to the atmosphere."
Elaine Garland questioned: "Does this affect the Dramway footpath? One of the nicest walks to do."
Christopher Haines asked: "Isn't that just going to push the ques [sic] onto the ring road? Surely it's better to increase the internal capacity of the site."
The council added that more work to extend the capacity of the site wasn't possible at this time.
Mangotsfield's Sort It Recycling Centre was shut for three days in May after a fire broke out at the site. Fire crews needed ten firefighters and a drone to control the blaze, caused by an electrical item.
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