Agenda item

To consider and endorse, or to make recommendations to the Cabinet Member responsible for the Minerals and Waste Local Plan on the proposed decision to undertake public consultation on the ‘Minerals Sites Plan – Options 2017’ document and associated ‘Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report.’

Mr Oakford (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning and Public Health), Katie Stewart (Director of Environment, Planning and Enforcement) and Sharon Thompson (Head of Planning Applications) were in attendance for this item.

Mr Oakford advised Members that due to a declaration of interest made by Mr Balfour (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) he would present the report and would take the subsequent decision. Mr Balfour left the meeting.

1.    Sharon Thompson (Head of Planning Applications introduced the report that provided an update on the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan (KMWLP) 2013-30 adopted by Kent County Council in 2016. The KMWLP committed the Council to develop a Minerals and Waste Sites Plan, to identify suitable sites for minerals and waste management in Kent.

2.    Following the decision to agree the methodology by which sites would be assessed, a ‘call for sites’ had been issued and work progressed under four main streams:

                      i.        The Minerals Sites Plan

                    ii.        Waste Sites Plan

                   iii.        Associated partial review of the KMWLP (in respect of future requirements for waste management and mineral and waste safeguarding); and

                   iv.        The local development scheme (timetable)

3.    In respect of the Minerals Sites Plan, it was now considered timely and useful to seek local views on the minerals sites options as set out in the KMWLP 2013-30 Mineral Sites Plan Options Consultation Document November 2017  (appendix 1 to item 7 of the committee papers). To this end a public consultation would be held for a twelve week period between December 2017 and March 2018.

4.    In response to questions the officer provided further information:

5.    The process for identification of Silica sand sites was separate from the minerals plan and was clearly set out in the KMWLP.

6.    No dredging sites are proposed in the Site Options document.   None had been promoted during the ‘call for sites, suggesting no case of need.  In order for the Plan to be found sound and capable of adoption, it needed to be deliverable and justified and a willing landowner was crucial to this.  

7.    A Waste Site Plan identifying allocations for sites for waste management was no longer necessary following the implementation of a recent planning permission of significant new capacity at Kemsley. This would provide some 500,000 tonnes of the identified need of 562,000 tonnes. The requirement set out in the KMWLP would therefore need to be amended as part of the partial review.

8.    Mrs Thompson welcomed the views of Mr Payne and Ms Hamiltion, elected Members for Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells and those of the borough councillor represented by Ms Hamilton. She reminded Members that such views would be sought as part of the public consultation period after which the options would be reconsidered in light of any responses.

9.    In regards to the proposed timescale for the Partial Review of the KMWLP and the Mineral Site Options, a 12 week public consultation period was proposed that would run from December 2017 to March 2018. Mrs Thompson reiterated that the Council would not want to proceed without the views of parishes and town councils. Whilst there was little flexibility in the consultation timescale, the consultation period could be extended to allow for optimal flexibility within the constraints of the Democratic sign off period.

10.Mrs Thompson reinforced the notion that the views expressed within the Hendeca Ltd letter which was circulated to Committee Members in advance of the meeting and related to the Partial Review and waste management requirements, were typically those that were expected to be raised from the public consultation. She advised that the views presented by Hendeca Ltd. were based on the August 2017 Technical Reports and an informal consultation with the industry at the time.  The documents were reviewed in light of that consultation. Mrs Thompson said that she welcomed the view of that company or any other waste company that may wish to comment on the partial review documents.

11. In terms of contractual obligation, the document would not change those contractual obligations on the Norwood quarry activity. Mrs Thompson advised the Member that she was happy to discuss the needs and the timescale for those needs outside the meeting as it fell outside of the KMLWP remit.

12. In response to a Member’s query about the extraction of sand and the growing ecology issue, Mrs Thompson said that ecology was a key consideration in regards to determining whether a development was acceptable or not and was considered at both the initial assessment stage and the detailed technical assessment stage. There was also a Sustainability Appraisal document and a Habitats Regulation Assessment document that sat alongside that piece of work to support whether or not the development was ecologically sound.

13. Mrs Thompson noted that there was a typographical error that needed to be corrected within the proposed amendment to the Safeguarding Policy document. She confirmed that this would be corrected before the consultation commenced.

14. RESOLVED that the Cabinet Committee endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member responsible for the Minerals and Waste Local Plan to:

                      i.        undertake public consultation on the ‘Minerals Sites Plan – Options 2017’ document and associated Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report in line with Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012;

                    ii.        undertake a Partial Review of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 concerning future requirements for waste management and mineral and waste safeguarding;

                   iii.        undertake associated public consultation on the Partial Review document and the associated Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report; and

                   iv.        note the contents of an updated Local Development Scheme (including revised timetable) to reflect the Partial Review and changes to the programme and timetable concerning preparation of the Sites Plan.

[Mr M Payne requested that it be noted that he fully supported the procedure however he was unable to support the M12 being included as an allocation of the site as its geographic proximity was close to Medway. Mr Payne also requested that it be noted, in advance of any consultation, that he had raised an objection as a Tonbridge Member to the site allocation. Added by agreement at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 31 January 2018 under minute item 59]