Meeting documents
Cabinet
Wednesday, 5th November, 2008
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Bath & North East Somerset Council |
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MEETING: |
Cabinet |
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MEETING DATE: |
5th November 2008 |
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER |
12 |
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TITLE: |
Joint Waste Core Strategy for the West of England: Preferred Options Document |
EXECUTIVE FORWARD PLAN REFERENCE: |
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E |
1868 |
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WARD: |
All |
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AN OPEN PUBLIC ITEM |
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List of attachments to this report: Appendix A Summary consultation Leaflet: Joint Waste Core Strategy for the West of England Appendix B Preferred Options Document: Joint Waste Core Strategy for the West of England (COPIES OF THIS LARGE DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED AT THE COUNCIL'S PUBLIC INSPECTION POINTS) Appendix F Frequently asked Questions Document Appendix G Joint Waste Core Strategy DPD Consultation 2007: "Issues and Options" List of letter respondents (excludes 332 questionnaire responses) |
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1 THE ISSUE
1.1 Bath & North East Somerset Council is preparing a Joint Waste Core Strategy in conjunction with the other West of England Unitary Authorities, recognising the strategic benefits of a partnership approach. Consultation on the Preferred Options Document provides a further opportunity for public involvement in the emerging Core Strategy, the primary purpose of which is to identify locations for the development of strategic waste facilities for both commercial and municipal use. A summary document in the form of a leaflet is attached as Appendix A and a copy of the Preferred Options document is attached as Appendix B.
2 RECOMMENDATION
The Cabinet agrees that:
2.1 The Joint Waste Core Strategy for the West of England Preferred Options Draft Consultation Document be approved for consultation, subject to the text of the consultation document and associated information leaflet being updated to remove factual errors or to include necessary changes of a minor nature.
3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There are no financial implications directly arising from the report although delays in the project will result in significant financial penalties as a result of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.
4 CORPORATE PRIORITIES
- Sustainable growth
- Addressing the causes and effects of Climate Change
5 THE REPORT
5.1 The Joint Waste Core Strategy is a statutory plan - one of several which form the Local Development Frameworks of the Unitary Authorities in the West of England. It identifies the locations of major new waste facilities, within a spatial strategy, and sets principles for the siting of smaller facilities. As a Joint Plan, it recognises the cross boundary movements of waste within the sub-region. The Core Strategy should reflect Government policy and be generally in conformity with Regional policy and targets for both municipal and commercial waste set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West.
5.2 The Preferred Options Document contains the emerging waste planning strategy for the West of England, addressing the planning aspects of waste minimisation, recycling/composting, recovery and disposal. It provides a strategic planning framework, within which Unitary Authorities will develop more detailed local policies, and builds on consultation undertaken on an Issues and Options consultation document early in 2007. It relates to waste from municipal, commercial, construction and demolition sources, with municipal waste responsible for just under 30% of all that produced within the West of England.
5.3 It is intended that, subject to Executive approval by all four Unitary Authorities, consultation on the Preferred Options Document should commence in January until March 2008. The Core Strategy will be submitted to the Secretary of State in September 2010.
5.4 The consultation process will comply with the Statements of Community Involvement of each Authority and will include a series of informal "drop in" events, supported by exhibition and information material. Officers will be on hand to provide information and advice. There will be at least two such events in each Unitary Authority area.
5.5 The West of England Partnership Joint Scrutiny Committee, together with the scrutiny bodies of the four Unitary Authorities, have been consulted on a Pre-Consultation Preferred Options Document. Their views are set out in Appendices C and D. A summary of key comments and an officer response to these are set out in Appendix E. Arising from Scrutiny and other comments received from earlier stages of consultation, an advice sheet listing Frequently Asked Questions has been prepared and is attached as Appendix F. .
5.6 The Core Strategy Preferred Options Document presents an opportunity for consultees to comment on emerging policies which have been informed by a substantial body of technical work but can still be shaped by responses to consultation. Policies are laid out in an outline form to indicate their broad purpose and will be developed in a more detailed form at the next stage which is the production of a Submission document. The direction of emerging policy is focussed on Waste Minimisation, Recycling and Composting, together with Recovery. (The process of extracting a product of value from waste materials). Detailed policies will be developed by individual Unitary Authorities on the first two issues. With regards to Recovery the facilities required are of a strategically significant scale and could involve a range of technologies. Energy recovery offers the prospect of waste treatment facilities that provide the fuel for Combined Heat and Power; an option which will be considered as part of the master planning of urban extensions.
5.7 The Core Strategy will include a spatial strategy for the distribution of new strategic facilities and allocate sites for development. The Preferred Options Document sets out the results of the appraisal of three spatial options which has led to the identification of a preferred spatial strategy. The preferred spatial option for recovery facilities described as Option C proposes facilities with an overall capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year. This includes a facility at Broadmead Lane, Keynsham with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year. All three options were the subject of a sustainability appraisal and out of this process it was concluded that Option C was the best in terms of minimising transport and achieving economies of scale.
5.8 The guidance in PPS10 (Planning for Sustainable Waste Management) suggests that specific allocations should normally avoid any detailed prescription of waste management technique or technology that would stifle innovation in line with the waste hierarchy. From the Council's perspective there are likely to be certain types of technologies which are considered inappropriate for the site in Keynsham. The advice in PPS10 suggests that the document cannot exclude technologies but in order to cover the situation which applies to Keynsham and possibly other sites in the area the following wording has been included at the front of the document :-
"In reality, there are likely to be some technologies which are not appropriate or deliverable on the sites identified. This could be as a result of a range of issues including environmental and land ownership constraints".
5.9 With regards to landfill/landraise, an assessment of capacity in the West of England has highlighted an expected shortfall, even taking in to account of declining need during the plan period to 2026.Further work is currently being carried out to assess the constraints on further landfill but it appears likely that the total capacity required cannot be found. Work to date suggests that constraints associated with aquifers and European Habitat designations would significantly limit any opportunity in this Council's area. The Preferred Options document therefore proposes a two part approach to policy on landfill. Firstly, that a criteria based policy be developed setting out the locations and circumstances where landfilling/ landraising would be acceptable. Secondly, that there should be a further dialogue with adjacent Authorities close to the West of England regarding the scope for use of landfill capacity within their areas. It may be necessary to consider options whereby the exporting of waste to landfill is balanced by the complementary importation of waste from nearby areas for processing/ treating within the West of England.
5.10 In conclusion The Joint Waste Core Strategy is a key policy document for the West of England Unitary Authorities. It will fulfil their statutory obligations to adopt sound, integrated waste planning policies and support the procurement of essential new municipal waste facilities to enable targets for diversion of waste from landfill to be met and avoid potential financial penalties. Publication of the Preferred Options document for consultation is an important step in capturing the views of the public and the waste industry and progressing towards adoption of the Joint Core Waste Strategy.
6 RISK MANAGEMENT
6.1 The report author and Lead Cabinet member have fully reviewed the risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.
6.2 The joint commissioning of the Waste Core Strategy was agreed by all Councils in the West of England Partnership. Not to prepare a Waste Core Strategy jointly with the West of England Authorities would result in less robust policies for Bath & North East Somerset Council, which did not acknowledge cross linkages in terms of movement of waste and interdependency between Authorities as recognised in the Joint Residual Municipal Waste Management Strategy.
7 EQUALITIES
7.1 The needs of minority groups and groups with special needs will be taken into account in preparing the consultation strategy.
8 RATIONALE
8.1 Consultation will focus on a preferred waste planning strategy, including identification of prospective sites for locating additional strategic waste recovery facilities. This will ensure that one of the key alternatives to landfill can be accommodated.
8.2 A critical issue for the West of England is its limited capacity to provide for a declining, but significant need for landfill. Opportunities for landfill within the sub-region are constrained and there is a need to consider options involving disposal in locations outside the West of England area.
8.3 The Core Strategy will also provide a framework of broad policies, particularly focused on waste minimisation, recycling and composting, to guide the development of more detailed waste planning policies by individual Unitary Authorities.
9 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED
9.1 The option not to consult has been considered, however consultation is essential to ensure the "soundness" of the Publication Version of the Submission Document.
10 CONSULTATION
10.1 Cabinet members; Parish Council; Town Council; Overview & Scrutiny Panel; Other B&NES Services; Local Residents; Community Interest Groups; Stakeholders/Partners;; Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive; Monitoring Office
10.2 Consultation on the Preferred Options document is part of a continuous process of community and stakeholder engagement required under regulation 25 of the Development Plan Regulations. As referred to in paragraph 5.5 above the various Scrutiny Committees have been consulted over the last few months. In the future the proposed activities and events to promote consultation are:-
a Formal Consultation with statutory bodies
b Consultation with interested bodies (e.g. environmental organisations).
c Public Exhibitions at Council Offices and other suitable locations.
d On-line information, discussion groups and response form.
e Publicity and promotion and distribution of documents.
f Drop-in events (at least two per council area).
g Respond to invitations from Parish/Town Councils and other groups to attend their meetings.
h Stakeholder/Environmental Groups Workshop
i Industry / Landowner Workshop
11 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION
Customer Focus; Sustainability; Property; Corporate; Other Legal Considerations
12 ADVICE SOUGHT
12.1 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor), Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) and the Divisional Director Environmental Services have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.
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Contact person |
Kaoru Jacques (Planning Policy) 01225-477288 David Davies 01458-833925 |
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Sponsoring Cabinet Member |
Councillor Charles Gerrish |
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Background papers |
1 Issues and Options Document: A Consultation document to develop a waste Management and Planning Strategy for the West of England. January 2007. 2 Draft Regional Spatial Strategies for the South West. Proposed Changes. July 2008. 3 Planning Policy Statement 10. Planning for Sustainable waste. 4. West of England Joint Residual Municipal Waste Management Strategy. 5 Joint Waste Core Strategy Preferred Options- Interim Sustainability Appraisal. |
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