Issue - meetings

Mr D Wimble - Cabinet Member for Environment presented the item. Matthew Smyth- Director for Environment and Circular Economy and Charlotte Smith were in attendance

1)    The paper referenced a key decision to allocate capital budget for the construction of a new waste transfer station at Junction 11 on the M20. The current waste facilities in Folkestone and Hythe would be insufficient to manage the volume of waste generated by existing housing levels.

2)    Funding had been supported through the KCC capital budget and alongside contributions from district partners. Planning permission for the site had been granted in August 2025.

3)    A budget gap had been identified, which had presented a challenge to moving forward with construction. The paper presented a review of the available options to close the identified budget gap and enable delivery of the essential waste infrastructure.

4)    Following a detailed options appraisal option three had been identified as the preferred approach. Option three proposed to extend the developer contribution collection period from 2030 to 2040 and would align with Kent County Council’s published housing-led forecasts.

5)    Officers highlighted KCC’s statutory responsibility to provide a suitable waste infrastructure for the district to deliver.

6)    Members requested clarification regarding the £6 million borrowing referenced in the paper. Officers confirmed that the figure had related to existing, already-budgeted borrowing and did not represent any additional borrowing beyond what had previously been approved.

RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for (the Kent) Environment agree to:

1)    PROCEED with option 3, which is to utilise waste reserve funds to close the budget gap and extend the developer contribution collection period to 2040, thus allowing the continuation of development of the site near junction 11 of the M20.

2)    DELEGATE authority to the Cabinet Member for (the Kent) Environment to approve the capital funding for this project and to the Director of Infrastructure to approve the purchase of the land.

3)    DELEGATE authority to the Director of Environment and Circular Economy in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, awarding, finalising the terms of and entering into the relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the decision as shown at Appendix A.