Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Growth & Infrastructure

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/124

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

Report by Deputy Director for Environment & Economy – Growth & Infrastructure (CA10).

The Minerals and Waste Core Strategy will set out the vision, objectives, spatial strategy, core policies and implementation framework for the supply of minerals and management of waste in Oxfordshire to 2030.  The County Council must carry out consultation on a preferred strategy before the Core Strategy is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.  This consultation is to be undertaken in September/October 2011.  A draft strategy for waste was considered by the Minerals and Waste Plan Working Group on 9 May 2011.  The Working Group has recommended to Cabinet that this should form the basis of a preferred waste core strategy for consultation.

The report puts forward a draft (preferred) planning strategy for waste, for public consultation.  This includes a vision and obectives for waste; the need for additional waste facilities; options for meeting these requirements; a draft planning strategy for the location of new waste management facilities; polices for waste; and other core policies.

The strategy makes planning provision for dealing with all wastes in Oxfordshire, including municipal waste; commercial and industrial waste; construction and demolition waste; hazardous waste; and radioactive waste.  It aims to move the way waste is dealt with in the county away for landfill towards increased recycling and treatment to recover resources.  The strategy makes provision for the additional facilities that will be needed to enable this, mainly located at or near Oxford and the other large towns.  It includes proposals for an additional plant for treatment of and recovery of resources from commercial and industrial waste located in the Abingdon / Didcot / Wantage and Grove area; and proposals for dealing with nuclear legacy radioactive wastes at Harwell and Culham.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)                Agree Annex 2 as the County Council’s waste strategy options and draft waste planning strategy for the purpose of consultation.

(b)                Delegate authority to finalise the consultation document to the Deputy Director (Growth and Infrastructure) in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)              Agree Annex 1 as the County Council’s waste strategy options and draft waste planning strategy for the purpose of consultation subject to the following corrections:

Page 304, paragraph 4.40:

Delete whole paragraph and replace with:

‘4.40 This requirement mainly arises after 2020, mainly due to the temporary nature of many existing facilities, and is primarily needed to serve the large towns of Bicester, Abingdon and Didcot and their surrounding areas. The reasonable options for provision of this capacity are:

a): Concentration of additional provision at or close to Oxford.

b): Additional provision at or close to large towns in:

• Northern Oxfordshire (Bicester); and

• Southern Oxfordshire (Abingdon; Didcot).

c) Additional provision at or close to large and smaller towns in:

• Northern Oxfordshire (Bicester); and

• Southern Oxfordshire (Abingdon; Didcot; Faringdon; Henley; Thame).’

Page 307, paragraph 4.52, Policy W5, line 8:

Delete ‘Oxford and’ and ‘Banbury’.

Page 313, paragraph 4.79, line 6:

Delete ’option a’; Insert ‘option b)’.

(b)              Delegate authority to finalise the consultation document to the Deputy Director (Growth and Infrastructure) in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure.

Cabinet considered a report on a draft (preferred) planning strategy for waste, for public consultation. This included a vision and objectives for waste; the need for additional waste facilities; options for meeting these requirements; a draft planning strategy for the location of new waste management facilities; polices for waste; and other core policies.

Councillor Purse, Shadow Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure expressed her pleasure that this matter had been deferred to allow consideration by Scrutiny. This was the first time this Strategy had come forward and although there were clear explanations as to why the sites were needed the policies would have far reaching effects so a great deal of consultation was needed. There was a need to ensure that the pressure to recycle commercial/industrial waste was maintained.

The Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure in introducing the report highlighted the need for new facilities to deal with the County’s commercial waste streams. A number of options had been identified and the consultation was to seek views on a way forward.

RESOLVED:             to:

(c)               agree Annex 1 as the County Council’s waste strategy options and draft waste planning strategy for the purpose of consultation subject to the following corrections:

Page 304, paragraph 4.40:

Delete whole paragraph and replace with:

‘4.40 This requirement mainly arises after 2020, mainly due to the temporary nature of many existing facilities, and is primarily needed to serve the large towns of Bicester, Abingdon and Didcot and their surrounding areas. The reasonable options for provision of this capacity are:

a)  Concentration of additional provision at or close to Oxford.

b)  Additional provision at or close to large towns in:

• Northern Oxfordshire (Bicester); and

• Southern Oxfordshire (Abingdon; Didcot).

c)   Additional provision at or close to large and smaller towns in:

• Northern Oxfordshire (Bicester); and

• Southern Oxfordshire (Abingdon; Didcot; Faringdon; Henley; Thame).’

Page 307, paragraph 4.52, Policy W5, line 8:

Delete ‘Oxford and’ and ‘Banbury’.

Page 313, paragraph 4.79, line 6:

Delete ’option a’; Insert ‘option b)’.

(d)              delegate authority to finalise the consultation document to the Deputy Director (Growth and Infrastructure) in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure.