Agenda item

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 the plan under section 20(7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

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 always changing.

Councillor Steve Curran, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment, commended the paper commenting that it was a comprehensive piece of work. He considered that the split between North and South seemed correct. However he raised a number of minor concerns around the waste situation: with the developments going on waste needed to be processed as close to its production as possible. In addition he queried why the County was still a net importer of waste with a huge amount of crushed rock waste coming into the County. Councillor Nimmo Smith, Cabinet Member for Environment explained that a lot of that traffic was historic and were long term arrangements that could not easily be unpicked.

Councillor Nimmo Smith introduced the contents of the report and in moving the recommendations commented that much of the concern was around the mineral and gravel extraction. It was a balancing act between supply and demand. He refuted comments about the LAA stating that it was a robust assessment and that the methodology was sound.

Bev Hindle, Strategic Director for Communities; Chris McCarthy, Interim Director Environmental Operations and Peter Day, Minerals & Waste Policy Team Leader responded to the points made by speakers. In particular Cabinet was advised that the sustainability appraisal on the North South split was part of the new work required by the interim Inspector’s report and that that work had been done and gave the figures in the report. With regard to the point about the correlation between growth and aggregate use It was explained that the figures looked at the indicators of demand in the County and included population, growth, housing stock, planned housing growth and employment trends. There was agreement that there was a need for more recycling facilities and the modified policies provided a more positive approach. With regard to waste imports most were going to landfill. Oxfordshire had more landfill capacity than many authorities. Whilst that was available waste would come in but in future that capacity would be used up and the imports would end.

In response to a question from the Leader of the Council, Chris McCarthy stressed that the report was seeking approval for public consultation not approval to a final plan. In relation to the question of development sites Cabinet was advised that consideration had not been given to individual sites but had been looked at by District. There was a possibility that future developments could affect the Plan as it moved on but this was seen as unlikely.

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, expressed sympathy with much of what had been said by the speakers. She had been disappointed by the Inspector’s attitude with too much weight given to the Regional Aggregate Working party. She felt that there was a lack of robust evidence supporting a move from the 10 year average and queried why Oxfordshire was different. She objected to the North South split figures which she believed were arbitrary. She added that the Cabinet Advisory Group had not endorsed the Plan and that there were serious concerns amongst those members. Cabinet was being asked to agree the proposals for consultation and Councillor Lindsay-Gale was certain that people would take that opportunity to put forward their objections.

RESOLVED:             (by a vote by a show of hands of 6 for, 0 against with 1 abstention) 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 the plan under section 20(7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.