Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/058

Contact: Peter Day, Minerals & Waste Policy Team Leader Tel: 07392 318899

Report by Director for Planning & Place (CA11).

The County Council has a statutory duty to prepare a new Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan, to provide an effective planning strategy and policies for the supply of minerals and management of waste in the county, consistent with environmental, social and economic needs, to replace the existing Minerals and Waste Local Plan which was adopted in 1996. The Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy (the Plan) was approved by the County Council in March 2015 and submitted for independent examination by a planning inspector in December 2015. Following a hearing held in September 2016, the Inspector issued an Interim Report.

The Interim Report provided the Inspector’s conclusions on the amounts of provision that need to be made for mineral working and waste management over the Plan period to 2031. He concluded that the provision for mineral working should be as the Council proposed in the submitted Plan, based on the Local Aggregate Assessment 2014. The Interim Report also covered certain legal and procedural matters, including the need for further Strategic Environmental Assessment / Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) work to be undertaken and stated that modifications to the Plan needed to be proposed.

The further SEA/SA work required was undertaken and a comprehensive new SEA/SA report prepared. Proposed modifications to the Plan were drafted in response to the Inspector's Interim Report and in the light of representatons made on the Plan and discussion at the examination hearing and the further SA/SEA work. Following agreement by Cabinet in January 2017, the proposed modifications and the new SEA/SA report were published for public consultation in February 2017.

All responses to this consultation that were received by the Council were passed to the Inspector. The Inspector considered these responses and issued his Final Report on the examination of the Plan on 15 June 2017. The Inspector concludes that the Plan as submitted has a number of deficiencies in respect of soundness and legal compliance, which means that he recommends non-adoption of it as submitted, but that with his recommended main modifications the Plan satisfies legal requirements and meets the criteria for soundness and is capable of adoption.

The Inspector's Final Report confirms the findings of his Interim Report. His recommended main modifications are largely the same as the Council's proposed modifications that were published in February 2017 but he has made a small number of alterations to bring certain polices into line with national policy and ensure soundness of the Plan. The Council may now adopt the Plan but may only do so with the main modifications recommended by the Inspector (and any additional modifications that do not affect the polices). Adoption of the Plan requires a resolution of the Council.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

(a)   recommend to Council to:

          i.          adopt the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy with the main modifications recommended by the Inspector in his final report (Appendix B) at Annex 3B and such additional modifications as are required, in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 section 23(3) (as amended);

         ii.          authorise the Director for Planning & Place to carry out the steps required by The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, Regulation 26 for making the plan and other documents and information publically available and notifying specified persons as soon as reasonably practicable after the plan is adopted;

(b)authorise the Director for Planning & Place to finalise the additional modifications that are required, for recommendation to Council, to include the additional modifications published by the Council for public comment on 3 February 2017 subject to any necessary amendments and any further additional modifications now required.

The County Council has a statutory duty to prepare a new Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan, to provide an effective planning strategy and policies for the supply of minerals and management of waste in the county, consistent with environmental, social and economic needs, to replace the existing Minerals and Waste Local Plan which was adopted in 1996. Following an extensive statutory process Cabinet considered a report on the outcomes.

Councillor Adrian Lloyd, Wallingford Town Council,  spoke in connection with the aggregate assessment figures stating that in his view the figures was too high and wold not be realised. Changes to the regulations on re-use of demolition materials meant that there ws a replacement for sharp sand and gravel. He feared that the effect would be that pits opened and then were forced to close.

Councillor Lynda Atkins, local councillor for Wallingford whilst accepting that a Mineral & Waste Plan was desperately needed spoke against the aggregate assessment figures which she felt were unnecessarily high and did not protect local residents in her division from applications for new pits.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment expressed disappointment that the Plan had taken 4 years to reach this stage and hoped that the development of site allocations would happen without delay in order to provide certainty and to protect from speculative proposals.

Asked by Cabinet to comment on the Local Aggregate Assessment Peter Day explained that the LAA had been subject to much discussion over a lengthy period of time. It had taken a whole day at the examination and the Inspector had concluded that it was an appropriate basis on which to plan for 2031. The Inspector’s recommended modifications included the LAA figures and the modifications could only be agreed as a total package.

Peter Day responded to concerns from Councillor Lindsay-Gale who stated that she had fought the proposals since 2003 and communities in her Division were upset at the proposed split between West and South Oxfordshire. She added that the Cabinet Advisory Group had opposed the plan at every single stage. Peter Day stressed that the Inspector had been required to consider all representations and he had done so, including those from local residents and groups. Bev Hindle added that Cabinet were being asked to put it forward today for Council adoption taking into account the views of the CAG.

During discussion Cabinet explored the impact of not having a Plan in place which would be to continue to base decisions on national policy leading to less protection for local people from inappropriate proposals.

RESOLVED:                        (by 5 votes for and 3 abstensions) to

(a)             recommend to Council to:

                    i.          adopt the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy with the main modifications recommended by the Inspector in his final report (Appendix B) at Annex 3B and such additional modifications as are required, in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 section 23(3) (as amended);

                  ii.          authorise the Director for Planning & Place to carry out the steps required by The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, Regulation 26 for making the plan and other documents and information publically available and notifying specified persons as soon as reasonably practicable after the plan is adopted;

(b)             authorise the Director for Planning & Place to finalise the additional modifications that are required, for recommendation to Council, to include the additional modifications published by the Council for public comment on 3 February 2017 subject to any necessary amendments and any further additional modifications now required.