Former mayor of Gillingham Barry Von Clemens has claimed that local residents are being used as ‘guinea pigs’ over controversial plans by Dorset Council to introduce a booking system for rubbish tips.

His comments came as the council backtracked on bringing in the unpopular new system for all ten recycling centres in the county, and said that it will now initially only apply to four: Dorchester, Wimborne, Sherborne – and Shaftesbury.

Reacting to the news, Councillor Von Clemens noted how Shaftesbury, which serves the far north of Dorset, was one of those tips chosen to continue with the scene.

‘With so much opposition from our communities, I can’t help but wonder why our voices aren’t being heard at County Hall?’ the councillor noted on Facebook.

‘Residents in Shaftesbury, Dorchester, Sherborne, and Wimborne are now being used as guinea pigs for an unpopular system that lacks proper consultation or clear evidence of its effectiveness.’

Councillor Von Clemens added: ‘If this is merely a pilot program, what criteria are they using to measure success? Who’s tracking the impact on fly-tipping, traffic congestion, or accessibility for those who need it most?’

A petition has now been launched against the booking system planned at Shaftesbury, which can be found here.

Meanwhile Dorset Council said it had shelved plans to implement the booking system at all ten recycling centres ‘following extensive public feedback’.

Instead of launching the system county-wide later this year, the council will now introduce it in a ‘targeted roll-out’ at the four sites, it said.

The remaining six centres will continue to operate as usual – without slot bookings – while the council looks to strengthen its measures to prevent commercial misuse, it added.

Councillor Jon Andrews, Cabinet Member for Place Services, explained: ‘We’ve listened to residents and understand their concerns. We still believe a booking system is the best way to protect our recycling centres from future service cuts, but this new approach allows us to prioritise the areas with the most pressing issues.’

The council says it will closely monitor how the system performs – looking at booking slot availability, customer satisfaction, recycling rates, and any changes in fly-tipping. So far, there is no evidence, it says, to suggest that successful booking systems increase illegal dumping, but the council will track this ‘carefully’.

If the system proves as effective as Dorset Council expects, it will help shape the future of how all the recycling centres operate, ensuring ‘long-term sustainability without compromising service quality’, the authority says.

Councillor Andrews added: ‘We’ve heard from many residents who say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And we get that. But the reality is, the current service is costing more than it should, and some areas do need “fixing” to a certain extent.’