Opening hours at leisure centres and recycling facilities in Antrim and Newtownabbey area could be cut in cost-saving measure

A reduction in household recycling centre opening hours will be discussed during a meeting of the borough council’s Operations Committee at Antrim Civic Centre on Monday evening.

And Antrim and Newtownabbey councillors will also consider reducing leisure centre opening hours during public and bank holidays ahead of the annual rate-setting next month.

In terms of leisure centres the report said public and bank holidays “incur significantly higher operational costs with employee wages on these days reaching up to triple the standard rate”.

Councillors are advised by decreasing opening hours on these days, staffing costs can be reduced from approximately £105,000 to £45,000 with additional savings through energy reduction.

Members have been told previously Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council forked out £2.3m for energy costs during 2023/24 to cover 58 facilities. Powering the borough’s leisure centres and civic centres accounts for 70 per cent of this cost

The building with the highest energy bill was Valley Leisure Centre, Newtownabbey, which cost almost £351,000, followed by Sixmile Leisure Centre, Ballyclare, £323,457; Antrim Forum and Mossley Mill, £320,000; Antrim Civic Centre, almost £146,000 and others, £819,000.

Meanwhile councillors were told last month that opening hours at recycling facilities had been highlighted recently.

Currently, the borough’s five sites are open six days per week with Bruslee in Newtownabbey and Newpark, in Antrim, open on Sundays. The others are located at O’Neill Road, Glengormley, Craigmore Road, Antrim and in Crumlin.

A report to be considered by the committee says vehicle counting devices show the highest usage during weekdays between 10am and 11am and from 5pm until 6pm. Mondays and Saturdays are the busiest.

The report indicated longer opening hours at recycling centres in Antrim and Newtownabbey overall compared to those in Belfast, Mid and East Antrim and Lisburn and Castlereagh council areas.

It has been proposed opening hours should be reduced to 10am until 6pm from Monday to Saturday at all the borough’s recycling centres and at Bruslee and Newpark, on Sundays, from noon until 5pm.

Recycling centres in the borough are open to residents only, Monday to Saturday, from 9am until 8pm and on Sundays, Bruslee is open from 9am until 5pm and Newpark, from noon until 5pm.

If the proposed reduction is approved, councillors are told that staff costs could be decreased by approximately £30,000 annually and a drop in waste collection at the centres is expected to result in a saving of £40k.

The report to councillors says the proposed new opening hours would result in “better customer service” and that the local authority is “keen to keep the service accessible to all residents”.

It is proposed to introduce new opening times from April following staff consultation.

In November, a booking system for medium to large vans was introduced at the borough’s recycling centres for a six-month trial period in a bid to reduce what has been described as “significant congestion”.

The busiest household recycling centre is at O’Neill Road, Glengormley, where 217,604 vehicles arrive annually, followed by Newpark, Antrim with 178,272 vehicles; Bruslee, Newtownabbey, 152,474; Crumlin, 83,154 and Craigmore, Antrim, 47,884. The most waste was brought to Newpark.

A report to councillors said: “While council was keen to keep the recycling centres accessible to all residents, recent site surveys had indicated high levels of van usage which affects the service provided to the other site users.

“The high number of van users at council’s recycling centres was affecting the operation of the facilities leading to significant congestion.”