by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Despite recent flooding on the road to and from Dorchester’s only public tip Dorset Council has no short or medium-term plans to replace the site.
The Louds Mill household recycling centre location has long been the subject of criticism – having not been expanded or improved substantially despite hundreds of new homes in the town, notably at Poundbury and Fordington Fields in recent years.
Queues along the narrow, pot-holed road, which also serves local businesses, are frequent, especially at periods when skips have to be removed and replaced causing the site gates to be closed – often leading to delays of 20-30 minutes each time.
The access problems have again been highlighted in recent days with up to a foot of water in places on the access road from Louviers Way.
Despite years of concern, there are still no firm plans by Dorset Council to replace the site, although new household recycling centres have been built at Bridport with construction currently underway on a new site on the outskirts of Blandford.
Dorset Council has confirmed it will keep all 10 of its household recycling centres open and is instead focusing on operational changes, rather than building new facilities. Dorchester is one of four tips – alongside Wimborne, Shaftesbury and Sherborne – where a new booking system will be introduced, with the council arguing this is the “best way” to protect services and avoid cuts in opening hours or closures.
No firm date has been given for when the booking system will start.
The council itself lists Dorchester as one of the sites most affected by congestion and queuing because of its location and the local road network, saying the booking system is intended to ease pressure at busy times. Recent break‑ins at both Dorchester and Weymouth tips have added to frustrations, causing damage, disruption and temporary closures while security is improved.
Under the revised strategy agreed in 2025, Dorset Council scaled back a county‑wide booking plan after a public backlash but kept it in place for Dorchester and three other problem sites. The council says the new system will cut queues at Dorchester, help staff manage waste more efficiently and save “hundreds of thousands of pounds” across the network – money it says would otherwise have to be found through reduced hours or shutting centres.
Strategic planning documents for the wider area have previously talked about the need for improved waste infrastructure and hinted that Louds Mill might eventually be replaced or relocated, but without any public timetable, funding or agreed alternative site. Town councillors in Dorchester have continued to argue for “a better site for the tip”, yet residents are being told the immediate future lies in managing the existing, problem‑plagued facility more tightly rather than building a new one.
A site close to the Stinsford roundabout has been considered as had a site on the Duchy Poundbury estate in the more distant past, although that was ruled out. The Stinsford site will depend on Dorset Council securing agreement from the developers of the North Dorset housing development of around 4,000 homes, should that eventually be given planning consent.
Permission has recently been given for the removal of two structures at the town’s waste water treatment plant on the approach road to the tip, which is likely to add to congestion when it gets underway later in the year.
