A WASTE recycling centre will have extended opening hours over the Christmas period to help ease congestion at other sites.

Durham County Council’s Hett Hills Household Waste Recycling Centre, which is usually only open during weekends and bank holidays, will open from 9am until 3.30pm from Monday, December 23 to Sunday, January 5, only excluding Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

After the festive period, the site will return to its standard opening hours of 9am to 3.30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.

John Shannon, the council’s strategic manager for waste, said: “Our waste sites get very busy during the Christmas period. We’ve made special arrangements to keep Hett Hills open for additional hours which we hope will help reduce traffic and queuing at the nearby Annfield Plain and Potterhouse Lane HWRCs.”

For information about other sites, commercial waste or permits, which are required by residents using a van-type vehicle or trailer, visit durham.gov.uk/hwrc