Cranfield is in the administration area of Central Bedfordshire and this council is responsible for our refuse collection and disposal. All visits to Central Beds Tipy Tips can only be made by appointment during the Coronavirus pandemic special measures. The nearest one to Cranfield is in Ampthill which is about 9 miles away. The Newport Pagnell Tip is for residents in the administrative area of Milton Keynes and the Bedford Tip is for North Beds residents only. All are by appointment.
I filled out the online form on the Central Beds website where they wanted to know my car registration and my address. I found that appointment could be booked up to 10 days ahead. Initially it was a half-hour slot but now is 20 minutes. I booked a slot and had a confirmation email. As I'd heard from a Bedford resident that he had been turned away 5 minutes before his appointment at the Bedford Tip I used Google Maps to work out what time to leave so I could arrive soon after my appointment. In fact I still arrived 5 minutes early and the sentry waved me through as he had checked my car number.
There were only 2 cars waiting in the lane leading to the Tip. An operator was letting in one car at a time as soon as another car left the Tip. We were told that only one person could leave the car unless 2 were needed to lift a heavy object. We only had to wait about 5 minutes. You then drive up a ramp to the area where a few unloading spaces were marked out, some distance apart. The skips are very large and objects have to be lifted up and thrown over the edge which is about 5 feet high. The skips are also deep so if you are emptying the contents of a bag you have to make sure you grip the bag tightly - otherwise you will lose it and would have no chance of retreiving it!
There are the normal selection of skips for various materials such as wood, glass, household and garden refuse.
I would suggest that the best approach to this site is via Abbey Lane, which is off Flitwick Road Maulden which runs between a roundabout on the southern Ampthill bypass (A507) and Maulden village.
You can also get into Abbey Lane via Oliver Street, which is off the main Ampthill high street (confusingly called Flitwick Road also). However this is a busy and narrow road with lots of parked cars making it single lane in several places.
My first visit was therefore quite painless and probably quicker than it would be in normal times.
Alan Hawkins
I filled out the online form on the Central Beds website where they wanted to know my car registration and my address. I found that appointment could be booked up to 10 days ahead. Initially it was a half-hour slot but now is 20 minutes. I booked a slot and had a confirmation email. As I'd heard from a Bedford resident that he had been turned away 5 minutes before his appointment at the Bedford Tip I used Google Maps to work out what time to leave so I could arrive soon after my appointment. In fact I still arrived 5 minutes early and the sentry waved me through as he had checked my car number.
There were only 2 cars waiting in the lane leading to the Tip. An operator was letting in one car at a time as soon as another car left the Tip. We were told that only one person could leave the car unless 2 were needed to lift a heavy object. We only had to wait about 5 minutes. You then drive up a ramp to the area where a few unloading spaces were marked out, some distance apart. The skips are very large and objects have to be lifted up and thrown over the edge which is about 5 feet high. The skips are also deep so if you are emptying the contents of a bag you have to make sure you grip the bag tightly - otherwise you will lose it and would have no chance of retreiving it!
There are the normal selection of skips for various materials such as wood, glass, household and garden refuse.
I would suggest that the best approach to this site is via Abbey Lane, which is off Flitwick Road Maulden which runs between a roundabout on the southern Ampthill bypass (A507) and Maulden village.
You can also get into Abbey Lane via Oliver Street, which is off the main Ampthill high street (confusingly called Flitwick Road also). However this is a busy and narrow road with lots of parked cars making it single lane in several places.
My first visit was therefore quite painless and probably quicker than it would be in normal times.
Alan Hawkins
Cranfieldweb Blog
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30/05/20 Visit to Ampthill Tidy Tip (by appointment)
I arrived slightly early and was waved in by the number plate checker. There were about 5 cars waiting. The cars that were already unloading (presumably the 5 cars allowed at one time), seemed to be taking for ever to deposit their rubbish. Two of the vehicles in the queue before me were vans and when they were allowed in I could see the drivers going from bin to bin with a small armful of rubbish each time. This no doubt caused some of the delay. I had to wait over 20 minutes in the boiling heat before I got to the front of the queue. By this time my 20 minute slot had expired! It only took me a few minutes to unload. As I left there were about 12 cars waiting and the entrance lane was almost full. I saw a notice saying that if you were in the queue when the site closed at 5pm you would not be admitted! Seems very unreasonable. I think the shorter time slots are causing a log jam situation. I hope it gets sorted soon.
Eric Timewell
Eric Timewell
14/06/20 My Visit to Ampthill Tidy Tip
There was no one on the gate when I arrived (dead on time) and no other cars waiting. I drove up the ramp and there was a solitary man in a hi-vis jacket checking the car numbers off a list. One other car was emptying its rubbish otherwise the place was empty. It only took me a few minutes to unload a full boot of garden rubbish and I was out in seven minutes. It looks as if the appointment system is not needed any more.
John West
John West
23/09/20 My Visit to Ampthill Tidy Tip
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