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A long-standing controversy over use of a Household Recycling Centre that sits on the border between the Belfast and Lisburn /Castlereagh council areas is set to continue as a West Belfast centre remains closed for repairs. Belfast City Council has unsuccessfully appealed to Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council for residents in Southwest Belfast to use the Cutt’s Recycling Centre, which is in Dunmurry, on the Lisburn Castlereagh side, while the Blackstaff Way recycling centre in West Belfast is being renovated. Blackstaff Way Recycling Centre has been closed from October 1 for repairs. The Belfast Council plan is to reopen it on Monday November 3. READ MORE: Lisburn Castlereagh staff facing 'sectarian abuse' on recycling refusals amid Belfast dump closure, says councillor READ MORE: New housing estate including 58 semi-detached homes approved for West Belfast Since then there has been controversy, with allegations being made of verbal attacks against employees of The Cutts Household Recycling Centre in Dunmurry coming from Belfast residents being turned away at the gates. Lisburn North SDLP councillor Pat Catney said: “I'm being told that Belfast ratepayers are going to Kennedy Way and they are being told to come up here to the dump at The Cutts, as the nearest recycling centre. “The young council staff at The Cutts are getting verbally abused by residents of Belfast who are saying things in a sectarian manner, because they are being knocked back from using the recycling centre. It is right that the Belfast residents are being refused as they are not Lisburn and Castlereagh ratepayers.” Before these allegations were made, at a meeting of Belfast Council’s People and Communities Committee earlier this month, City Hall officers were instructed to “be as forceful as they can” to convince Lisburn and Castlereagh Council to allow Belfast residents to temporarily to use the Cutts Recycling Centre. Sinn Féin Councillor Caoimhín McCann said at the meeting: “The Blackstaff Way site is closed for renovations at the minute, as they are upgrading their facilities. That becomes obviously quite a distance for residents in the Collin, Dunmurry, Poleglass and Lagmore to travel (to recycle). “(I propose) council officers go and communicate with Lisburn and Castlereagh Council and we can offer some kind of temporary solution, a temporary use of the Cutts Recycling Centre, and if there is some kind of mutual benefit to be had, maybe we can make that work.” A council officer said: “We did write to Lisburn, their council officers wrote to our officers today, and we got a reply back from them, basically saying they couldn’t facilitate it. They said controlled access to their HRCs are for residents only, and our request would require (Lisburn) committee approval before full council approval. That wouldn’t be in place until after our works have been completed at Blackstaff.” Sinn Féin Councillor Matt Garrett said at the meeting: “This is a long-standing issue, it goes back quite a long time, right back to the Review of Public Administration, whenever Lisburn and Belfast joined. We had previous councillors in here who made the pitch that there should be some form of an agreement. “We have people in Twinbrook with a recycling centre that is literally 50 yards away, and they can’t access it. This is about reciprocation, this is about councils working together, and trying to work cohesively.” He said: “We have spoken about fly-tipping. That is what happens when people don’t get access, and we end up having to use our resources to go and clear that up. We should go back to Lisburn and be as forceful as we can, in terms of trying to get some form of an agreement on this.” The council officer said they would return communication to Lisburn and Castlereagh. There has to date been no movement on the issue, and Belfast residents are still not being allowed to use the Cutts, while Blackstaff remains closed. People Before Profit Councillor Michael Collins said: “We should definitely be encouraging councils to work together on this, because it is quite a unique situation. It is not just Twinbrook, it is Lagmore and Mount Eagles, thousands and thousands of people, who cannot access the nearest recycling centre. “We have written (to Lisburn/Castelreagh) in the past, and they have basically turned around and said it is not something they are going to change. I want to know if it is something we can make subject to an Equality Impact Assessment. There are people with disabilities (nearby) who cannot access this facility, and are having to travel very long distances.” Belfast City Council officially said:"While Blackstaff recycling centre (located on Kennedy Way) is closed at the moment, Belfast residents are being advised to use our other council facilities instead, including the nearest civic amenity site at Springfield Avenue, and this information has been shared with site users across all our communications channel." A spokesperson for LCCC said: “We do not condone any abuse of our staff and will take action as appropriate to ensure their safety. Access to our three HRCs is only for our residents. "This has been the practice since 2020 and is in line with our statutory requirement as a local authority to safely dispose of our residents’ waste. To prioritise council services for residents, anyone using the centres may be asked to produce photographic ID on arrival, along with proof of address. "If the photographic ID used does not show their address, they should also bring a recent utility bill." For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter
