Support from all Political parties

Monday 11th October 2021

Support from all Political parties

How do you know when an idea is a good idea? - one way is all political parties support it

The campaign to reopen the Forest Row  'Tip' as a modern recycling centre has support from all Wealden political parties. 

  • The Wealden MP Nusrat Ghani has written a piece in Forest Row Local as follows - 

    Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has welcomed recent progress regarding the future of the Forest Row Household Waste Recycling Site.

    Nusrat Ghani said: “I’m pleased to learn that the Forest Row Parish Council approved the making of a bid to the County Council for the freehold of the old Household Waste Recycling Site in the village. If successful, the site will then be leased to a Community Interest Company which now stands ready to run a bespoke recycling/re-use centre as a community business".

    “The proposals suggest that the site could be a space to dispose of recyclable waste such as metal, small electrical goods or wood, but also a space to dispose of waste that is not currently segregated by Wealden District Council. Additionally, the Waste Recycling Action Group (WRAG) would like to set up a community shop, where disposed items could be repaired and sold for reuse. The recycling centre provides a vital service for so many local people and this move would aid in educating the community about waste and environment, as well as create local jobs".

    “Since 2018, I have been campaigning against the closure of Forest Row recycling centre and I made repeated representations to the East Sussex County Council and supported the locals in sharing their views with the Council. After speaking to WRAG representatives, I convened and chaired a meeting with the leader of the East Sussex County Council in December last year to discuss the reopening of the site".

    “I welcome the cooperation between the Parish and the County Councils and progress made to date. I have continued to both explain the importance of this local asset to the Council and ask of them to do everything they can to ensure that the bid is supported. I trust that the County Council will fully considered this proposal and I look forward to a positive working relationship to ensure that we get the service reinstated and enhance the re-use and recycling capacity of the village".

    “Keeping the recycling centre open is an important step to ensuring that residents of not just Forest Row but across the whole of Wealden do their bit to protect the environment and it is a unique opportunity to progress a project supporting Wealden towards ‘zero-waste’.” Nusrat has previously made a statement to the Sussex Courier

  • Statement from Weaden Labour:

"Wealden Labour Party was dismayed at the closure, in 2018, of East Sussex Councty Council's Household Recycling Facility in Forest  Row. 

The closure was strongly opposed by the people of Forest Row and the facility has been greatly missed by thousands of local residents.

Further, closure of this key facility has increased carbon emissions by forcing vehicles to travel out of the area and resulted in an overall reduction in recycling and re-use. This outcome runs counter to ESCC's declaration of a climate emergency and policies flowing from this.

Wealden Labour is therefore pleased to give its wholehearted support to Forest Row Parish Council's proposal for a community-based waste/recycling site. The council has a well thought out plan that will include the re-use, repair, re-purposing and recycling of items and materials.

Wealden Labour strongly urges ESCC to now sell the recycling facility site to FRPC as a community asset."

Brendan Clegg, Vice Chair, Wealden Constituency Labour Party

  • Wealden Green Party says

Wealden Green Party supports Frow ReSource and believes that it is a step towards a much needed regenerative future in which residents feel empowered to take loving action towards the planet. Frow ReSource will be a space in which people of all ages can join to find ways to solve our waste problem and change our behaviours around waste.

Wealden Green Party is fully supportive of the aims to reduce waste, recycle more locally and use resources and materials more efficiently.

District Councillor for Forest Row - Patricia Patterson-Vanegas says, “I received a mandate from residents to support the WRAG / Frow ReSource team to convert the dream into a viable, sustainable and visionary reality. The team has delivered beyond my wildest expectations. I love projects like Frow ReSource that go beyond politics and unite us all". 

  • Wealden Liberal Democrats say

Wealden Liberal Democrats fully support the proposed re-opening of the old Forest Row tip as a recycling centre.   

"We were against the original closure of the tip, mainly because the impact would be that Forest Row residents would have to drive across Ashdown Forest to access the facilities at Maresfield, thus adding to the environmental damage.  We believe recycling for local residents should be encouraged and made as easy as possible and so support the recycling centre initiative". Elizabeth Riminton