A fall in the number of trips to a York tip in the first month of a new booking system has sparked a row.
The number of vehicles which visited Hazel Court in March was 9,909 compared to 21,332 during the same month in 2025, according to data from operators Yorwaste.
Cllr Paula Widdowson, environment spokesperson for York’s Liberal Democrat opposition, said the new system was not working and risked an increase in fly-tipping.
But Cllr Jenny Kent, City of York Council’s Labour environment executive member, said ditching bookings risked a return to gridlock and meaningful conclusions could not be drawn from one month of data.
It follows the launch of the Click Before You Tip system at Hazel Court which opened for bookings on Monday, 23 February ahead of it going live a week later.
Residents can book four ten-minute slots a week while businesses are allowed two 15-minute visits a day to the James Street site.
Bookings are not required for walk-ins or for the council’s tip in Towthorpe in Moor Lane, Strensall.
The system was introduced to try and tackle queues at Hazel Court and resulting congestion which was harming businesses based in and around James Street.
The system is currently being trialled ahead of a future decision on whether to keep it.
Yorwaste figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats showed Towthorpe was busier than Hazel Court for the first time since at least April 2024 in March.
Data from automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at the tips showed 10,583 vehicles visited Towthorpe last March.
The total compares to 9,770 in March 2025.
The overall number of vehicles visiting both tips also fell year-on-year from 31,102 in March last year to 20,492 a year later.
Vehicle visits to Hazel Court were also down in January and February this year, prior to the launch of the booking system.
January 2025 saw 17,300 vehicles visit the James Street tip, compared to this year’s 16,034, with a year-on-year fall from 16,168 in February last year to 14,354.
It also comes as council figures show there were 1,150 incidents of fly-tipping in York in the first four months of this year.
The total is up by six per cent compared to the same period in 2025.
Opposition Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, Cllr Paula Widdowson, said the figures should prompt a re-think of the new system.
She added it came after opening hours at the tip had been reduced following the decision to close it on Wednesdays, pushing more trips into the weekend and fuelling congestion.
Cllr Widdowson said: “Residents are telling us loud and clear that the new booking system at Hazel Court simply is not working.
“The numbers speak for themselves, visits to Hazel Court have more than halved in a year and, for the first time, Towthorpe has overtaken it for visitor numbers.
“When you make it harder for residents to dispose of waste properly, you inevitably risk more rubbish ending up dumped on our streets.”
Cllr Andrew Waller, of Westfield ward which had the highest number of fly-tipping incidents between January and March, said community skips or ‘tidy-up’ vans could help tackle the issue.
Labour Environment Executive Member Cllr Kent said it was disappointing to see Liberal Democrats argue for a return to queues by ditching bookings, which would also pose a safety risk.
She added the opposition’s alternative budget failed to include funding to extend tip opening hours.
Cllr Kent said: “We’ve received lots of feedback from residents saying how much smoother and less stressful visiting Hazel Court is now compared to the long queues they previously experienced.
“However residents choose to book, the small amount of time taken will be more than saved by the shorter queuing time when arriving at Hazel Court.
“Unstaffed community skips are not being considered because they’ve attracted large scale fly tipping in the past, including trade waste, but we’re working at a local level to find solutions that work for residents on the issue of bulky waste disposal.”
