Archived decisions

Contact: Stuart Jarvis, Deputy Director of Environment tel 01962 846124

email: [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 The County Council, as a Minerals and Waste Planning Authority, has a duty under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to prepare a Minerals and Waste Development Framework which is a `portfolio' of development documents that collectively delivers the spatial planning strategy for minerals and waste in Hampshire. Local planning authorities are encouraged to work collaboratively on such documents and the County Council is working in partnership on the Framework.

2. Recommendation

2.1 That the County Council adopts the revised Hampshire Minerals and Waste Core Strategy Development Plan Document, part of the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework, including the changes as recommended by the Inspector's report, in accordance with Regulation 36c of the Town and Country (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004.

3. Background

3.1 As part of the Joint Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework, the County Council with its partners, Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils and the New Forest National Park Authority, is required to produce a Core Strategy document. This sets out the over-arching strategic approach to minerals and waste planning in Hampshire, including long-term infrastructure requirements, broad spatial distribution and development control policies to be used in future planning decisions. As such it sets the context for subsequent minerals and waste development documents that will identify specific sites and areas for development.

3.2 In July 2005 Cabinet approved the `issues and preferred options' draft of the Core Strategy for preliminary consultation purposes. The first phase of a comprehensive statutory public consultation took place between 30 September and 11 November 2005. There were 131 responses to the consultation from a wide variety of stakeholders. These ranged from comments on specific issues through to those of presentation and clarification of terms used. These comments were carefully considered and used as appropriate to influence the content of the final draft of the Strategy which was subsequently approved by Council on 30 March 2006 for submission to Government and as a basis for policy.

3.3 The Core Strategy was submitted to Government on 31 May 2006. This was followed by a further six week period of consultation. There were 772 duly made representations to this consultation from 165 organisations and individuals mainly commenting on specific issues. Key issues included concerns about conformity with national and regional planning policy, proposals not to accept a regional requirement to landfill some of London's waste, the adequacy of a `strategic reserve' for sand and gravel and in particular whether more minerals sites should be identified in the subsequent Hampshire Minerals Plan. In addition there were some local concerns about `areas of search' for minerals and landfills in and around Bordon and Walkford. These comments were considered by the appointed Planning Inspector, Mr Stephen Pratt, in a Public Examination into the `soundness' of the Core Strategy. A `hearing' took place at the Winchester Royal Hotel between 23 January and 30 March 2007.

3.4 The Inspector's report has now been received and concludes that the Core Strategy is sound provided 56 recommended changes are made.

3.5. Unlike the former Local Plan system, the recommendations are `binding' on the County Council and its partners. The Inspector endorsed the Strategy's over-arching approach of increasing the recycling of waste to secure a commensurate decrease in both landfilling and quarrying. Moreover, he accepts that it is not appropriate for Hampshire to find sites for landfilling London's waste in the period to 2016, but recommends that the matter should be reconsidered by a review of the Strategy for the period after 2016. With regard to the Strategy's approach not to specifically find mineral sites in the period 2016-2020, the Inspector agrees that sites do not necessarily need to be identified but `areas of search' should be shown on subsequent plans.

3.6 The Inspector's recommendations are considered to be reasonable and do not alter the substance and sense of the Strategy as approved by the Council and its partners last year. The Core Strategy has now been amended in line with the `binding' recommendations of the Inspector and a revised copy has been made available in the Members' Rooms and has been published on the internet together with a copy of the Inspector's report.

4. Conclusion

4.1 Approval is now sought to formally adopt the Core Planning Strategy, as amended by the Inspector's recommendations, in accordance with Regulation 36c of the Town and Country (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004, as a basis for the plan-making and development control processes.

9401/JS