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A demand for immediate action over long queues at Burgess Hill’s rubbish tip has been made by Lib Dems.

Because of the current Covid-19 restrictions, the town’s Household Waste Recycling Site is currently at capacity with vehicles queuing all day, every day. These often stretch back to the London Road roundabout.

This situation is replicated across West Sussex, with the county council bringing in a booking system at several other sites including Shoreham, Horsham and Crawley ahead of a ‘spring surge’.

Last week, Lib Dem county councillor Kirsty Lord, who represents Hassocks and Burgess Hill South, asked the county council to bring summer hours forward from April 1 to start immediately.

Long queues are becoming a regular feature outside Burgess Hill's rubbish tip

The Conservative-led council then announced this change days later later and summer hours will begin on Friday (March 12).

However because the booking system will require people to reserve a slot in advance and only allow one visit a week, there are fears residents from other parts of West Sussex who find booking difficult, particularly at the weekend, may decide to use Burgess Hill, potentially leading to even larger queues.

The Lib Dems have started a petition setting out potential options to improve the situation now and in the immediate future.

These include:

Demand for action over long queues at Burgess Hill’s rubbish tip