DORSET residents are set to be charged for using a tip in Ringwood from next year.

From January 1, 2020, Hampshire County Council plans to begin charging non-Hampshire residents £5 each time they visit the Somerley Household Recycling Centre in Verwood Road.

The Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP), which has financial arrangements with neighbouring authorities to cover cross-border use of tips, wants to know how the new charges will affect nearby residents in Alderholt, Cranborne, St Leonards, St Ives, Three Legged Cross, Verwood and West Moors.

A spokesperson said: “We need this information to help make informed decisions about waste infrastructure in the future.”

The proposal to charge non-Hampshire residents to use the tip at Somerley has been under discussion for a number of years. The centre is located within a mile of the Dorset border, and the nearest tip operated by DWP is in Brook Road, Wimborne, and is already oversubscribed.

Residents are being asked for their views on the proposed charges in a survey, hard copies of which are available from Verwood and West Moors libraries.

Alternatively, visit www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/somerley-hrc-survey