West Sussex County Council has confirmed that the number of visits available per household will increase from 1 June.
The main reason for the trial at Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea, and Worthing sites was to reduce queuing at peak times which had caused problems for local residents and businesses and led to congestion on some major roads.
The trial met this objective and has also proved popular with most users who have reported the system is easy to use and appreciated not having to queue for long to get on site. Site staff are also very positive about the scheme which has smoothed out use through the day.
However, the restriction of one visit per week has been a drawback for some users. Now that social distancing measures are able to be eased at sites the trial will move into a second phase, which will change the current limit of one visit per household per week, to allow for five bookings to be made within any calendar month. This will increase the number of permitted visits per household from 52 to 60 across the year.
Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, confirmed the changes, saying: “One of the biggest factors that people have spoken to us about is the occasional need to visit a site several times in quick succession, and not needing to return for several weeks or even months. This refinement will commence from the start of June, although we ask users to continue to try and make as few trips as possible. We have noticed that since the trial started that users are generally bringing more things in per trip which is good for the environment and reducing traffic.
“However, there is still only a limited number of slots available each day, so we continue to advise people to book at least a day or two in advance where possible. We also would ask that if users decide they don’t need a booked slot, they cancel it as soon as possible which is very easily done online. This ensures that more people can use the site at their preferred time.”
All aspects of the trial will be reviewed in the autumn, after it has run for the initial planned six months.
For more information on the trial, visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/
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