THE tip in Darlington will continue to be only available by appointment.

The system was introduced last year to help with social distancing and to ensure the site was Covid compliant.

The booking system remains in place but the number of available slots has increased from 597 to 874. It will be reviewed in September.

Councillor Andy Keir said: “The booking system has generally worked well and while lockdown restrictions are now easing, they are still very much in force within workplaces, so we still need to maintain social distancing and restrict the number of vehicles, and people, on site at any one time.

"With that in mind there are no plans at present to remove the booking system. It is there to help keep you and staff at the site safe, and by managing the traffic flow onto the site there is less likelihood of traffic building up causing road safety problems. It also means less waiting time for users."

“However, we have now also been able to increase the number of slots available each day from 597 to 874.

"We would urge residents to be considerate when using the tip - only book an appointment if really necessary and if you no longer need your slot, please do cancel it using the link in your confirmation text or email so it is available for others to use.

“We will review the situation again in September.”

The site is open 8am-6pm every day, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, weather permitting, and there are 597 appointments available to book each day.

All visitors must book an appointment before they visit the tip. Appointments can be made online at www.darlington.gov.uk/tip or you can call 01325 405111 (and confirmation will be posted to you)

Everyone will be asked to show their appointment confirmation and proof they live in the borough before they can get into the tip.

Appointments should be cancelled if they are no longer needed.