Agenda item

Report by the Director for Planning and Place (CC11).

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. A schedule of additional modifications has been drawn up. Adoption of the Plan requires a resolution of the Council. The Cabinet, on 18 July 2017, resolved to recommend to Council that the Core Strategy with the main modifications recommended by the Inspector and necessary additional modifications be adopted.

Council is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          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, the additional modifications at Annex 4 and any further minor additional modifications made under b) i below, in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 section 23(3) (as amended);

(b)          authorise the Director for Planning & Place to:

(i)     make any further minor additional modifications which may be necessary, such as formatting changes and typographical corrections, in order to publish the plan; and

(ii)    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.

The County Council had 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 needed 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 concluded that the Plan as submitted had a number of deficiencies in respect of soundness and legal compliance, which meant that he recommended non-adoption of it as submitted, but that with his recommended main modifications the Plan satisfied legal requirements and met the criteria for soundness and was capable of adoption.

The Inspector's Final Report confirmed the findings of his Interim Report. His recommended main modifications were largely the same as the Council's proposed modifications that were published in February 2017 but he had made a small number of alterations to bring certain polices into line with national policy and ensure soundness of the Plan.

Following approval by Cabinet on 18 July 2017, the Council had before it the Plan with the main modifications recommended by the Inspector, together with additional modifications that do not affect the polices for Adoption.

Councillor Constance moved and Councillor Hudspeth seconded that Council approve the recommendations set out in the report and on the face of the Agenda.

Following a lengthy debate, the motion was put to the vote and was carried by 53 votes to 3, with 2 abstentions.

RESOLVED: (by 53 votes to 3, 2 abstentions) to:

(a)          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, the additional modifications at Annex 4 and any further minor additional modifications made under b) i below, in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 section 23(3) (as amended);

(b)          authorise the Director for Planning & Place to:

             i.          make any further minor additional modifications which may be necessary, such as formatting changes and typographical corrections, in order to publish the plan; and

            ii.          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.