All seven Cheshire West tips open 8am to 4pm October to March, and four shut two days a week. Register your car first. Site hours and Christmas closures.

Cheshire West and Chester’s seven recycling centres are on summer hours until the end of September. Last winter, from October to March, every site opened from 8am to 4pm, which is four hours less on a weekday evening at Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford. The four smaller sites also close on two weekdays. And since July 2026, none of them will let you in unless your car has been registered in advance.

The quick answer

  • Winter hours, October to March: 8am to 4pm at all seven sites, on the days each is open.
  • Northwich and Frodsham close Wednesday and Thursday. Neston and Tattenhall close Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Register your vehicle online before your first visit. The gates use number plate recognition, and you get 30 visits a year.

Winter opening hours, site by site

These are the hours printed on each site’s own council page last winter. Chester, Ellesmere Port, Winsford, Northwich and Neston were checked in January 2026, and Frodsham and Tattenhall in March 2026. The live pages still show summer hours on 24 September 2026. We will check them again once October begins.

Site Address Winter hours (October to March)
Chester Bumpers Lane, off Sealand Road, CH1 4LT Every day 8am to 4pm
Ellesmere Port Garth Road, CH65 4LB Every day 8am to 4pm
Winsford Leslie Road, CW7 2RB Every day 8am to 4pm
Northwich Marbury Lane, off Leicester Street, CW9 5LN Mon, Tue, Fri to Sun 8am to 4pm; closed Wed and Thu
Frodsham Station Yard, off Church Street, WA6 6PN Mon, Tue, Fri to Sun 8am to 4pm; closed Wed and Thu
Neston Clayhill Industrial Estate, CH64 3RL Mon, Thu to Sun 8am to 4pm; closed Tue and Wed
Tattenhall Red Lane, CH3 9BD Mon, Thu to Sun 8am to 4pm; closed Tue and Wed

Every site page adds the same warning: the gates may be closed before closing time so the people already inside can finish. Arriving at 3.55pm is a gamble.

What changes from the summer

In summer (April to September), Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford open 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 8am to 6pm at weekends. The Chester site page showed those hours on 24 September. On last winter’s hours all three closed at 4pm every day, so the after-work trip on a weekday stops when October begins.

The four smaller sites run 9am to 5pm in summer. In winter they open and close an hour earlier, at 8am and 4pm, and their closed days stay the same.

Christmas and New Year

At Christmas 2025 the council said all sites closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, with no other changes to opening times over the festive period. The 2026 notice has not been published. Last year’s pattern means closures on Friday 25 December, Saturday 26 December and Friday 1 January, but that is our reading of the precedent, not a council announcement. We will confirm it here when the notice appears.

The smaller sites keep their usual closed days on top of the bank holidays. Northwich and Frodsham close every Wednesday and Thursday, which this year includes Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Neston and Tattenhall close every Tuesday and Wednesday, which includes 29 and 30 December. If last year’s pattern repeats, Northwich and Frodsham will open on only five days between Christmas Eve and Sunday 3 January.

Real Christmas trees are taken at every recycling centre, and at six parks in January. The Christmas bin collections page lists the parks.

Register first: 30 visits, three vehicles

Since 20 July 2026 every household must register its vehicles online before visiting. The council’s rules:

  • You register once per household, and update it only if you change vehicle or move home. An annual reminder keeps the access active.
  • Up to three vehicles per household, including one commercial-type vehicle such as a van or pickup.
  • 30 visits per household in any 12-month period.
  • Number plate recognition checks your vehicle at the gate, so you do not need proof of address or a paper permit. The old paper permit at Neston has gone.
  • Waste from businesses or any “paid-for” work is not allowed, and an unregistered vehicle can be turned away.

What each site will and will not take

The Chester site page lists no asbestos, gas bottles or tyres. It turns away trailers over 3.5 metres and vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and it will not take waste brought in on foot. Neston refuses trailers over 2.5 metres. Sofas, armchairs, upholstered dining chairs and beanbags go in a separate skip. Frodsham, Neston, Northwich and Tattenhall cannot take them at all, as the bin collection days page explains.

Reuse shops at Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford sell second-hand furniture, bikes, garden tools and bric-a-brac. They no longer take cash.

Still to be confirmed

  • Winter 2026 hours: we will check the site pages in the first week of October.
  • Christmas 2026 closures: the council’s notice is expected in December.