Pepperhill waste centre to reopen after fire repairs

After a fire spread through the waste and recycling centre in Gravesend at the end of April, it was closed to the public for a clean-up operation.

At the time, KCC released a statement declaring "significant" work and repairs needed to be completed before it could reopen.

In particular, the centre had to be decontaminated because the fire had produced high levels of chlorine.

The council estimated this process alone could take up to eight weeks.

A further month was set aside to assess the damage caused by the fire and replace damaged parts.

People living in north Kent had been forced to take their rubbish to other sites in Dartford and Swanley.

However, the site will now be back open from tomorrow (August 11) for people to take their waste.

It had originally been reported the site would reopen to the public on Monday, August 13, but KCC has moved the date forward.

KCC has confirmed Pepperhill's contractors, FCC Environment, have been given approval to open doors again by the Environment Agency.

The council's waste manager Kay Groves said: “I appreciate the closure of Pepperhill has been extremely inconvenient for people wanting to dispose of their waste.

“It was necessary for our contractor to complete significant amounts of cleaning and decontamination to protect human health.

“The results of further testing has confirmed it will be necessary to remove and renew sections of the roof area to the main building at a later date.

“This work will be extensive but completed over several months and will be carefully planned to minimise disruption by avoiding a full closure where possible.

“The scheduling of these works is at the planning stage and further updates will be provided when the plan is defined.

“I would like to thank people for their patience and understanding., we would hope that it is recognised that the primary focus has to be safety of those that use and work at this waste site.”