The decision has been taken to introduce a booking system for the Hereford and Leominster HRCs to reduce traffic congestion and prevent the need to use the Halo car park in Leominster, while still continuing to protect the public from the threat of Covid-19.

The introduction of a booking system to these sites will:

• Ease traffic congestion to the sites through providing time slots for residents to visit, reducing the number of vehicles queuing throughout the day;
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• Reduce the impact of queuing traffic on surrounding businesses, specifically the Rotherwas site in Hereford where we have received reports of negative impacts that queuing traffic is having;
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• Prevent the need for the use of the Halo car park in Leominster which is important as the centre begins to open to more users;
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• Ensure queuing traffic does not then impact access at the Leominster site where the access road cannot accommodate 2 vehicles along the whole stretch;
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• Provide residents with more certainty over their access into the site so they can plan their journey;
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• Help to reduce the incident of fly-tipping close to the sites which is possibly a consequence of people not wanting to wait to dispose of their waste; and
• Continue to ensure social distancing and improved hygiene control measures can be maintained on both sites;

The introduction of a booking system across the other 4 sites has worked well and has been received positively by residents with feedback that ‘it is speedy and efficient’ and ‘brilliant with the booking system in place.’