Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/168

Contact: Charlotte Simms. Prinicpal Minerals & Waste Policy Officer Tel: 07741 607726

Report by Director for Planning & Place (CA10).

To seek approval of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (Eleventh Revision) 2021, in order to have effect from 19 January 2021 and to delegate final detailed amendment and editing to the Corporate Director of Place and Growth in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (Eleventh Revision) 2021 at Annex 1, in order to have effect from 19 January 2021 and to delegate final detailed amendment and editing to the Corporate Director of Place and Growth in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment.

Recommendations Agreed.

Cabinet had before them a report which sought approval of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (Eleventh Revision) 2021, in order to have effect from 19 January 2021 and to delegate final detailed amendment and editing to the Corporate Director of Place and Growth in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment noted that the additional preferred options consultation had added yet another necessary delay to more than a decade of delays, during which the Council had been at risk of exploitation by developers pushing to exploited the mineral reserves of the County to a potential inappropriate cost to the County and to residents.  The fact that this had not happened yet, was due to the diligent efforts of officers who had successfully discouraged such exploitation and partly due to luck.

He noted that the final completion date was now December 2023.  He had been on the Minerals and Waste working party for most of the past 16 years and that he had been given an assurance by officers that he would be invited to any celebrations when the final plan was adopted.

Councillor Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, commented that it was deeply regretful that they had not had an up to date Minerals & Waste Strategy since 1995.  They had agreed the Strategy in 2017, the report before the Cabinet today was concerned with the site allocation.  Not only were they not happy with the sites from the first iteration of the scheme, they were concerned that the estimates of the gravel capable of being extracted was less than expected and they had received a lot of push back about many of the sites.  Therefore, they had decided to stand back and review the allocation.

They had now engaged Northamptonshire County Council who had recently completed their Minerals and Waste Strategy and so had recent relevant experience with the Inspectorate, to assist them in shaping their allocations.  They needed to revise their timetable, which was now out of date, but upon the advice of the advisory group, they had decided that it was better to take their time and get it right.

Councillor Lindsay Gale commented and paid tribute to the diligence of her community which had picked up the discrepancy in the amount of gravel that was expected to be extracted.

Councillor Gray commented that the important thing was to get it right and get it right the first time for their communities.

Councillor Constance moved the recommendation set out in the report.

RESOLVED:  to approve the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (Eleventh Revision) 2021 at Annex 1, in order to have effect from 19 January 2021 and to delegate final detailed amendment and editing to the Corporate Director of Place and Growth in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment.

Recommendations Agreed.