Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/070

Contact: Peter Day, Minerals & Waste Policy Team Leader Tel: (01865) 815544

Report by Acting Director for Environment & Economy (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. 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 has issued an Interim Report.

The Interim Report provides 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 has 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 covers certain legal and procedural matters, including the need for further Strategic Environmental Assessment / Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) work to be undertaken and states that modifications to the Plan will need to be proposed.

The further SEA/SA work required has been undertaken, including: consideration of alternatives for the minerals and waste strategies to establish the ‘reasonable’ alternatives that should be assessed; SEA/SA of the ‘reasonable’ alternatives; and SEA/SA of proposed modifications. A comprehensive new SEA/SA report has been prepared. Proposed modifications to the Plan have been 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 of reasonable alternatives. The proposed modifications and the SEA/SA report will need to be published for public consultation and the Inspector will then consider any representations that are made before he finalises his report of the examination of the Plan.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)       agree the main modifications to the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy in Annexes 8, 8a and 8b for publication for public consultation; and

(b)      authorise the Strategic Director Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment to finalise the additional modifications to the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy in Annex 8 for publication for public comment; and

(c)       authorise the Strategic Director Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment to finalise the Strategic Environmental Assessment / Sustainability Appraisal report on the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy, to include the work contained in Annexes 2 – 7, for publication for public consultation; and

(d)      authorise the Strategic Director Communities to make a request to the Inspector who is carrying out the examination of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 1 – Core Strategy to recommend modifications to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10

Recommendations agreed.

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. 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 has issued an Interim Report.

The further work required by the Interim Report has been undertaken, including: consideration of alternatives for the minerals and waste strategies. Proposed modifications to the Plan have been drafted in response to the Inspector's Interim Report and in the light of representations made on the Plan and discussion at the examination hearing and the further SA/SEA of reasonable alternatives. Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the proposed modifications and the SEA/SA to be published for public consultation prior to the Inspector considering any representations that are made before he finalises his report of the examination of the Plan.

Jaqi Mason, Parish Councillor, Clifton Hampden & Burcot speaking on behalf of OXAGE welcomed the public consultation but outlined 3 concerns: the wording of the recommendation negates the public consultation and should be amended to make it clear that this is a proposed plan; that little weight can be given to the emerging plan based on the extent to which there are unresolved objections; and concerns that Policy M5 does not comply with the National Policy Framework. Ms Mason added that she still did not agree with the additional amount of minerals and that figures were based on old data.

Councillor Charles Mathew, local councillor for Eynsham, expressed concern at the proposals believing that only token notice had been paid to the consultations over the last 4 years. He commented that 90% of councils used a 10 year average for the Local Aggregate Assessment (LAA) and argued that there was no basis for the approach used by the County Council. He referred to information in Part 1, Appendix 3 and in table 5b that he asserted were incorrect. He suggested improvements that could be made including updating data in the Plan and enforcing conditions.

Councillor Lynda Atkins, local councillor for Wallingford, spoke against the proposals in relation to Policy M3 and the LAA suggesting that evidence was that there was a reverse correlation between growth and use of aggregate and that therefore the figures were based on a false assumption.  Councillor Atkins referred to the 40% of aggregate being exported outside the County and stated that the sustainability of that had not been considered. She referred to areas of growth that were not included in the Plan that indicated significant growth in the North. Councillor Hudspeth in response commented that the figure had been reduced over time and that in terms of including development sites the position was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10