I HAVE just made my first and possibly last trip to the newly-refurbished tip, sorry recycling centre, in Malvern Link with some garden waste. There were no more than a dozen cars in front of me, all of whom would have fitted into the old yard with room to spare, but it took 20 minutes for me to reach a spot where I could park and disgorge my rubbish into the appropriate container, and this despite a few cars ahead giving up and driving out.

I estimate the throughput of the new system to be roughly 25 per cent of the old arrangements and while it now has the advantage of not having to climb steps with heavy items, the shiny new ramps with the one-way system of only a single car's width are bound to cause major delays.

I would have thought this lesson should already have been learnt by Ledbury's experiences with a similar architecture at their tip but it seems not. The Upton-upon-Severn tip has now reverted to minimum part-time hours so not much help there.

I predict lengthy queues out on to the main A449 Worcester Road by this weekend; wasted police time with the inevitable traffic controls (one police vehicle was already stationed outside); frustrated residents and a rise in fly tipping.

Malvern Hills District Council deny all responsibility for waste disposal sites, saying that they are operated by County. Has common sense gone completely out of fashion with our local authorities?

J B EVANS, Walwyn Road, Colwall, Malvern.