Lifford Lane tip in Kings Norton could close for years as expansion works get underway

Residents in Birmingham wishing to dispose of their household waste in south Birmingham might soon need to find another place to go. The tip on Lifford Lane in Kings Norton could be closed for a significant period of time.

The facility is hoping to expand in size with a new layout aimed at cutting queues and making it easier to separate waste on the site itself. But, residents will be unable to dump their household waste during large parts of a construction period that is expected to last more than two years.

Hundreds of thousands of visits are made to the tip to dump tens of thousands of tonnes of waste. It is one of four household recycling centres in Birmingham with the other three in Sutton Coldfield, Tyseley and Castle Bromwich.

Developers say a lack of parking spaces at the current site means cars regularly queue on the public highway. Plans, lodged with Birmingham City Council planning department, would see the facility upgraded with space for cars to park inside the site as well as an increased capacity for household waste.

Space for cycling provision is also expected to be provided. A representative for the recycling centre said: “Once redeveloped, the site would operate more efficiently and would allow for greater waste separation helping to ensure that waste is wherever possible recycled or recovered ahead of disposal to landfill.

“The design of the proposed HWRC is such that it will allow residents to access the site and dispose of their waste more quickly and easily than is currently the case. The construction period is anticipated to last approximately 138 weeks.

“The first phase of the development would limit access to the public. The HWRC would then close during phase 2 and remain closed throughout all remaining phases of the re-development of the site.”

“This means that there would be no access available t the public throughout these construction periods. Whilst this would avoid the risk of accidents to the public during the demolition and construction of the new facility, it would result in the need for residents who would normally use the site as their local HWRC to visit other facilities across the city during this period.”

The plans will be discussed at a future meeting of Birmingham City Council.