BABERGH Council and neighbouring Mid Suffolk Council have contributed more than £200,000 to deliver a new recycling centre in a town.

Mid Suffolk and Babergh cabinet members agreed this week to contribute a combined £223,000 to build a new split-level waste recycling centre on land at the Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate, in Whittle Road, Ipswich.

Costing a total of £6.5 million, the project is set to replace the existing warehouse and be used for the relocation of the Portman's Walk facility.

The bulk of the funding is being provided by the county council, which gave planning permission in February, with just over £6.25 million committed for the facility's delivery.

The split-level building will be used to store a range of materials, including green waste, wood, metal and cardboard on its upper level, with 18 household recycling skips.

Meanwhile, the lower areas will be used for recycling containers, such as bottles, clothes and books, with both levels to have rubble and plate glass recycling skips.

Council papers say the new facility will eliminate issues at the Portman's Walk site, including queuing traffic, will improve recycling and future-proof the service for more than 20 years.

The project is expected to increase the number of slots available on the booking system to around 106,000, up from the current 85,000.

The two district councils have said their contributions reflect the benefits the facility would bring to residents across the district borders, who live close to Ipswich.

Once the site is purchased, by May 2026, work is expected to begin within six months, with delivery to take a further 12 to 18 months.

Meanwhile, the recycling centre at Portman Walk will stay operational until the new site is opened.

Future options for developing the existing workshops to provide a reuse workshop and storage are under review.