Uttlesford councillors this week demanded that Essex County Council provides a permanent civic amenity site to cater for household waste from Great Dunmow and the surrounding villages.

At present the whole of the southern half of the district, including Dunmow, Felsted, Stansted, Takeley and Thaxted is served by skips at 45 village and rural locations.

Members of the district council's environmental services sub-committee, meeting on Tuesday, urged County Hall to fast track plans to build a site behind the ambulance station in Chelmsford Road.

Cllr Alan Dean said: "We've been asking for this for so long, it's time the county council stopped dragging its feet.

"We want some movement now, we desperately need a permanent solution.

"This is a large and growing area. The problem was bad 10 years ago, it's much worse now."

Committee chairman Bill Bowker added: "We've been asking for this for so long now, the time has come for Dunmow to have a permanent site.

"It's hard to believe that a town of this size has been without this amenity for so long."

Skips are taken round the villages each weekend, members heard.

An officers' report said that although supervision meant that problems such as flytipping and rubbish overspill had been reduced, the growing population had added to the problem.

"The impact of these pressures has now resulted in the locations along and near main roads such as at Barnston, Elsenham, Stebbing, Aythorpe Roding, Dunmow and Stansted becoming overwhelmed with rubbish from outside their immediate areas," the report stated.

Councillors also agreed to continue to help parish councils administer the present system until the new site is built.

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