Tip queuing system 'an accident waiting to happen'

Traffic queues outside a waste recycling centre are making the road more dangerous, people living nearby have said.

Residents in Strensall say some motorists have resorted to driving into oncoming traffic to overtake cars queuing for the site on Towthorpe Moor Lane.

Julie Chapman, who runs York Golf Range on the road, said she feared there could be a "serious accident", adding that she believed "it's just a matter of when".

City of York Council, which manages the site, said it had seen a "small increase in visits" compared to March 2025 but said the average number of visits per day had "not risen significantly".

Some residents have highlighted changes at a different council run waste site, in Hazel Court, as a reason for the increased traffic near Towthorpe.

In March, City of York Council introduced a booking system at their Hazel Court site requiring both traders and York residents to book an appointment to drop off their waste.

Speaking in April, Yorwaste, which runs Hazel Court and Towthorpe on behalf of the council, said the changes had not resulted in any unusual increases in traffic at Hazel Court, as some had feared, nor had the city's other tip at Towthorpe been any busier than usual.

However, tip users and people living locally disagree.

"At Hazel Court now you have to book ahead to decide if you want to to use the waste site, but here they don't," Debbie Duffield, who lives in Strensall, said.

"You've got all these people who are like 'I can't be bothered to book an appointment there I'm just gonna jump in here' which is leading to the queues."

Peter Bell, who said he uses both sites, said: "The council have made a massive mistake. They've tried to reduce what I believe is a traffic problem at Hazel Court on a 30mph road and moved all that danger onto a 60mph road because people haven't got time to book [as] the system's too fiddly to use.

"They've just moved the problem somewhere else but increased the risk."

Towthorpe Moor Lane is a 60mph (96km/h) road which connects the A64 with Strensall Road and is home to a number of businesses, including Piglets Adventure Farm.

"Between Piglets and the tip there is quite a bad bend and in the last year we've had three cars end up in the ditch on that bend for whatever reason, but usually it's because somebody's travelling too quickly" Sarah Sykes, director and co-owner of Piglets said.

"What we've found is the commuters are overtaking the queues, because they know that people are queuing for the tip."

Luke Charters, MP for York Outer, said he had contacted the council about the issue, saying he had had "quite a bit of feedback about large queues forming outside York tips since the new booking system came in".

In response, City of York Council said it would be introducing additional signage on Towthorpe Moor Lane.

"Queuing at Towthorpe at this time of year is not unusual and typically increases during periods of good weather and around school holidays such as Easter," said head of environmental services Ian Hoult.

"The booking system at Hazel Court is a one‑year trial designed to improve traffic flow and safety on James Street, and we are continuing to seek feedback from residents and businesses."

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