Imberhorne Lane Operational Vehicle Store

On this page, find out about our plans for a proposed vehicle storage facility at Imberhorne Lane in East Grinstead, and share your views.

The existing depot space at Bridge Road, Haywards Heath, has been reconfigured several times to accommodate the increasing demands of our waste service provision. Due to various practical limitations, expansion is not viable at this site. To support the start of weekly food waste collections last year, we temporarily repurposed part of the Council’s car park in Haywards Heath to store a small number of waste vehicles, with agreed protocols around noise and odour management, until a new, permanent depot could be planned for the north of the district.

We are now progressing plans for a new operational vehicle store, and have identified the most suitable and practical location as the Council-owned site next to the existing Household Recycling Centre and Waste Transfer Station (owned by West Sussex County Council) at Imberhorne Lane.

The planned site will support fleet accommodation, vehicle parking, staff welfare, and operational support for the Council’s waste and recycling collection service. It is not proposed as a waste depot, waste transfer, storage, or processing facility.

Benefits

The proposed vehicle store could deliver a range of benefits for residents, businesses, and council services, including:

• Improved efficiency and reliability of your waste services through the strategic location of vehicles and equipment
• Enhanced resilience of our services, ensuring the council is better equipped to maintain waste collections during periods of high demand and severe weather
• Reduced vehicle mileage and associated carbon emissions, as vehicles may need to travel shorter distances between their base and service areas
• Better facilities for staff and vehicle maintenance, supporting employee wellbeing, health and safety, and fleet management
• Support for future service requirements and long-term value for money, by providing infrastructure designed to support service delivery both now and in the future