Frome Recycling Centre could soon be reopened following a call by local government secretary Robert Jenrick.

The recycling centre was closed by Somerset Waste Partnership following the initial government advice that travelling there was not essential, and workers have been redeployed to waste collection teams.

The local government secretary has called on councils to make plans to re-open recycling centres

The tip was one of the first services to be shut down by the council in March - and prompted criticism of the authority with residents fearing it would lead to a spate of fly-tipping.

On social media platforms in the borough there have been reports of an increase in dumping.

Yesterday (Tuesday, 28 April) Mr Jenrick said he had written to councils telling them to plan to reopen tips and recycling centres.

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

"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."

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The local councils 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."

Senior communications officer for Somerset Waste Partnership, Nick Cater, told Frome Nub News this morning (April 29) that the partnership had not yet seen the new guidance from the government.

He said: "Detailed planning is underway to ensure safety of both residents and staff, within government guidance, and alongside restoration of all waste services, again if safe for all and assuming we have sufficient staff for all tasks. No dates have been decided yet but we are working on it."