BLACKBURN’S main tip is undergoing a major overhaul including installation of CCTV cameras to catch people coming in from outside areas to dump building and trade waste for free.

The George Street West recycling centre is also getting a new compactor and having its layout changed to speed users and their vehicles through the site.

Blackburn with Darwen environment boss Cllr Jim Smith says the change should reduce traffic bottlenecks which have lead to complaints from neighbours.

A key element of the overhaul, agreed with operator SITA as part of the deal to extend its contract by another five years, is the ANPR cameras which will identify vehicles from outside the borough seeking to use the centre.

Cllr Smith said since Lancashire County Council imposed charges for trade, building and DIY waste at its tips there had been a growing problem with people from surrounding areas coming to George Street West to dump rubbish there for nothing.

He said: “The centre is more than 30 years old and has not been revamped for a decade.

“This overhaul should speed up things for users and reduce the bottlenecks of traffic that develop on the surrounding streets at busy times.

“The new cameras at the gate rapidly recognise vehicles registered at addresses from outside Blackburn with Darwen and barriers come down.

“If the drivers cannot prove they or the waste come from within the borough they are turned away.

“The new machinery will compact more recyclable waste into smaller blocks reducing the number of lorries needed to collect it leading the temporary closure of the tip.

“This much-needed overhaul, which will also the see its internal layout redrawn, will reduce traffic queues when finished within the next month.”

Council Conservative Group leader Cllr John Slater said: “This is a good idea which will reduce the traffic problems which have annoyed local residents. This centre is for borough residents not people from the rest of Lancashire seeking to avoid charges.”

Cllr Smith said the cost of several thousand pounds was being paid by SITA which was consistently hitting targets to recycle 68 per cent of waste.