Phone lines for City Offices will close at 4pm on Christmas Eve, Wednesday 24 December (with usual reception opening times of 10am-3pm for in person visits.) The phone lines will reopen at 08.30am on 2 January 2026 with our usual reception hours for in person visits of 10am-3pm.  

Reception opening times

	Date	Reception	Phone lines
	Monday 22 December	10am-3pm	8.30am-5pm
	Tuesday 23 December	10am-3pm	8.30am-5pm
	Wednesday 24 December	10am-3pm	8.30am-4pm
	Thursday 25 December to Thursday 1 January	Office closed	Office closed
	Friday 2 January	10am-3pm	8.30am-5pm

When the office is closed, you can still contact us in an emergency:  If you are a council tenant and have a housing emergency, please call: 01962 865 405 or for any other emergencies please call 01962 865 407.

If you would like to make a payment using our automated payment service, please call: 01962 848 512.

There are some changes to your waste and recycling collections over the festive period - check the table below for revised collection days. 

Remember, you can also check all your bin collection dates online at Find out your waste collection day or on your printed calendar.

Should your collection be missed over this period, you can still report a missed bin via our Missed Bins online form.

If it would be helpful to get a regular email reminder of which bin/s to put out for collection on which day, you can Sign up to receive bin day reminders by email .

Scheduled collection day	Revised collection day for general waste, recycling, batteries & small electrical items
Monday 22 December 2025	No change
Tuesday 23 December 2025	No change
Wednesday 24 December 2025	No change
Thursday 25 December 2025	Saturday 27 December 2025
Friday 26 December 2025	Monday 29 December, 2025
Monday 29 December 2025	Tuesday 30 December, 2025
Tuesday 30 December 2025	Wednesday 31 December 2026
Wednesday 31 December 2025	Friday 2 January 2026
Thursday 1 January, 2026	Saturday 3 January 2026
Friday 2 January 2026	Monday 5 January 2026
Monday 5 January, 2026	Tuesday 6 January 2026
Tuesday 6 January, 2026	Wednesday 7 January 2026
Wednesday 7 January 2026	Thursday 8 January 2026
Thursday 8 January 2026	Friday 9 January, 2026
Friday 9 January, 2026	Saturday 10 January, 2026
Monday 12 January, 2026	No change

Garden waste:

There’ll be no Garden Waste collections between Monday 29 December 2025 and Friday 9 January 2026.

Extra waste and recycling:

Over the festive period, we can collect any extra waste that won’t fit in your general waste bin. Please make sure any extra waste is contained and secured in refuse sacks and placed out alongside the refuse bin.

If you would like us to collect extra recycling, please make sure it is contained and secured in CLEAR sacks (no black refuse sacks please) and placed out alongside the recycling bin.

Cardboard boxes:

If you’d like us to collect cardboard boxes, please flatten them and place them alongside the recycling bin on your collection day.

Real Christmas trees:

Between Monday 12 January and Friday 23 January, we can collect real Christmas trees from all properties. If you’d like us to collect your real Christmas tree, you must remove it from its pot and strip it of all decorations. If your tree is over 5 feet tall, you’ll need to cut it into smaller pieces.

Please put your tree out on the garden waste collection day during weeks beginning 12 and 19 January 2026.

You'll find more information about waste and reycling collections over the festive period at Christmas and New Year waste collections 

Winchester Sport and Leisure Park (WSLP) and Meadowside Leisure Centre have amended their opening times over the festive period.

Winchester Sport and Leisure Park: 

Date	Opening Hours
Monday 22 December	6am - 10pm
Tuesday 23 December	6am - 10pm
Wednesday 24 December	6am - 12pm
Christmas Day	Closed
Boxing Day	Closed
Saturday 27 December	8am - 6pm
Sunday 28 December	8am - 6pm
Monday 29 December	8am - 6pm
Tuesday 30 December	8am - 6pm
Wednesday 31 December	7am - 3pm
Thursday 1 January	Closed
Friday 2 January	6am - 10pm

Meadowside Leisure Centre: 

Monday 22 December	6.15am - 10.15pm
Tuesday 23 December	6.15am - 10.15pm
Wednesday 24 December	9am - 1pm
Thursday 25 December	Closed
Friday 26 December	Closed
Saturday 27 December	9am - 5pm
Sunday 28 December	9am - 5pm
Monday 29 December	9am - 5pm
Tuesday 30 January	9am - 5pm
Wednesday 31 January	8am -3pm
Thursday 1 January	Closed
Friday 2 January	6.15am - 10.15pm

Normal opening times will resume from Friday 2 January 2026.