Traders renew calls for action over Hazel Court tip traffic

Fresh calls are being made for council bosses to take steps to ease congestion near Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling Centre which local traders say is damaging business.

At busy times, vehicles block both lanes along James Street as people wait to turn into Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling Centre.

City of York Council introduced earlier closing times at the centre, off James Street, last year, and an all-day closure every Wednesday to help reduce costs.

Lee Holland beside the entrance and exit to Hazel Court tip, off James Street, with traffic queueing behind him  (Image: Lee Holland)Businesses say the congestion got worse after the council started charging for green waste collections and they want the authority to bring back the booking system used during the Covid pandemic to control visitor numbers to the tip.

As reported, 13 businesses in Hazel Court and Yorvale Business Park signed an open letter to the council last September, raising concerns about the impact of the queues on their businesses.

Local garage owners are now speaking out, saying the traffic is causing customers to arrive late or even cancel in frustration and suppliers sometimes struggle to deliver parts.

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Andy Parker, Atlas Autos in Hazel Court, said people often started queueing  from 8.30am and some drivers turn around by his garage, making it difficult for his team, customers and suppliers to park. 

Andy said: “I can’t get to my own business, I can’t park my own car, and I can’t go out to do road tests because I can’t get back. Customers are getting frustrated by having to wait half an hour to get to the garage. It is ridiculous. At the moment, they are staying with me, but they may go elsewhere.”

Mike Fussey, from Faber Garage, said queues on James Street meant traffic sometimes backed up past his business on Hallfield Road.

“It’s worse first thing in the morning and after lunch. The issue was eradicated during Covid when the council put in set times for people to go. Now it’s a free-for-all. We can’t get parts delivered; customers get stuck in it and end up having to do a detour to get to us.

“A booking system would be better. They know how many vehicles they can get in and you would hope they would know the average time it takes people to offload.

“A lot of garages are frustrated. Some of them are delivering the cars back to customers on Hull Road to save them getting stuck.”

The traffic blocks the road as drivers queue to turn into Hazel Court Recycling Centre (Image: Newsquest) Andrew Molloy, owner of ACM Motors at the Raylor Centre, said: “The traffic affects test runs, getting parts and getting customers in and out.

“If a customer is an hour late, it snowballs, and you find yourself running out of time to get jobs done and for getting parts delivered. We are a BMW specialist, so we have to get to BMW at Clifton Moor to get parts.

“We also get supplies from Normanton, Leeds, Manchester – it is a nightmare because they are often on strict deadlines and can’t afford to wait.

“A lot of people have been giving up because they are not prepared to wait for an hour and a half. We have lost jobs because of it.”

Lee Holland’s Wheldrake-based company Lee Holland Trading supplies engine treatments to garages and he said he now struggles to fit all his deliveries into one trip.

“It is frustrating. If traffic is queuing up, do I sit and wait for an hour? It is worst after bank holidays when people have been doing their gardens.

“The council needs to move the tip or go to a booking service which they did during Covid. Now, people just turn up and have to queue. It is getting dangerous as well as people drive down the wrong side of the road to get in.”

James Gilchrist, director of environment, transport and planning, said the council was aware of the concerns raised by residents and businesses.

He said: “We thank everyone for their patience as there can be ‘peaks’ in traffic at Hazel Court. We do monitor visitor numbers throughout the day and know from this data that visitor numbers change significantly at different times for multiple reasons, including seasonal changes, the weather and holiday periods.

“We also know that increased visitors to Hazel Court was a concern raised when the Garden Waste Subscription Scheme was introduced. However, data collected last year does not support this.

“We are reviewing how the site operates and considering longer-term options to improve efficiency and ease traffic congestion, with a booking system one of these possible options.

“Whilst it can be frustrating to have to wait, there are some steps that visitors can take to help make the process quicker for everyone. If you pre-sort your waste before your visit, you make the trip quicker for yourself and everyone else, and where possible we’d advise you to visit at quieter times, often between 4-6pm.

“There is another HWRC at Towthorpe which can be used by residents only.”