To recommend to Council that the Herefordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) - a development plan document - is adopted.

That:

a)    The Herefordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan Inspectors’ Report1 (at appendix 1) be noted;

b)    The Herefordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan2, incorporating the main modifications3 (at appendix 2), be recommended to Council for adoption; and

c)     It be recommended to Council that delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning and Building Control to make any minor technical changes (e.g. typographical) to ensure that this development plan document is up to date at the time of adoption.

1.     There is an alternative option; not to recommend that Council adopt the MWLP. However, there would be little, if any, merit in doing so given that the Inspectors concluded that the Plan is sound. Such a decision would leave the council with considerably out of date saved minerals and waste policies from the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan, which was adopted a number of years ago in 2007. In addition, this would be contrary to the Core Strategy, which includes a commitment that the council will produce a MWLP.

2.     To reiterate what is set out in government advice4: whilst a local planning authority is not required to adopt a local plan following examination, it will have been through a significant and lengthy process locally to engage communities and other interests in discussions about the future of the area and it is therefore expected that the authority will proceed quickly with adopting a local plan that has been found sound.

3.     If the council were to decide to make changes to the MWLP, there would be considerable delay in progressing a revised plan, given the statutory requirements for further consultation and examination, which would need to be met in order to progress any amended development plan document. There would also be additional financial costs associated with this. As stated above, there would be little merit in doing so, given that the Inspectors have concluded that the MWLP, with modifications, is sound.

4.     Cabinet could decide to defer this decision or recommend to Council that the decision is deferred, but this is not recommended for the reasons set out above.

5.     There is no option to adopt the MWLP with only some of the proposed main modifications that came out of the examination process. By definition, the MWLP is now considered to be sound on the basis of its full content. If some (or all) of the main modifications were not included in the MWLP, it would not be sound and therefore it could not be recommended for adoption.

6.     Minor changes (appendix 3) are considered to be necessary by officers to: correct typographical errors; ensure clarity of meaning; and to ensure that the MWLP is up to date. These will not affect the soundness of the MWLP or materially affect its policies or proposals and, as such, an alternative option could be to recommend adoption without such minor changes. However, as these are important in creating a clear, unambiguous policy document, this option is not recommended.