To consider the Herefordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) development plan document for pre-submission publication, in accordance with regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (as amended), prior to its consideration at Full Council on 11 December 2020; and

To report the recommendations of General Scrutiny Committee on 28 September 2020 in relation to the MWLP; and

To refer the MWLP to Council, with a recommendation that, following the completion of the pre-submission publication period and consideration of duly made representations, it be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent testing, in accordance with section 20(3) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

The cabinet member infrastructure and transport introduced the report. He thanked officers for their work, members of the general scrutiny committee for their feedback and recommendations and those councillors and members of the public who had responded to previous consultation on the plan.

The cabinet member noted the requirements of national policy and the need for statements in the plan to be worded positively. He also outlined the process moving towards adoption of a final plan.

The senior planning officer and the council’s appointed consultant gave a presentation on the development of the plan and recommendations for consideration at the meeting.

The two supplementary public questions were reviewed and it was suggested that paragraph 5.5.15 be amended to refer directly to the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 and any subsequent amendments to that order so that it would always be up to date. In relation to policy W3 wording would be reviewed to make the policy more robust.

In discussing the draft plan cabinet members noted that:

•               the plan contained policies to guide applicants and planning officers, they would then seek the necessary information to make decisions against the background of that policy;

•               the plan linked to the council’s core strategy through the spatial strategy;

•               the plan focused not only on waste management but resources management so that waste was not generated in the first place, this would include a focus on strategic employment locations so that waste could be dealt with on site supporting a circular economy;

•               the plan set objectives rather than targets which could become quickly out of date;

•               the policy on extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons was as strongly worded as possible in light of national policy and it was felt very unlikely that any such activity would take place in Herefordshire;

•               care should be taken in the language used in the plan, for example be clear and consistent on use of word will, shall or may in policies, and ensure that use of words permitting or permitted do not give the impression of assumed consent;

•               policies were still open to comment and change during the next stages of preparation and the planning inspector could make recommendations for further changes to make the plan sound;

•               the wording of policy SP1 would be tightened to emphasise the requirement for developers to submit a resource audit and to include reference to embodied carbon and lifecycle costs;

•               the wording of paragraphs 3.3.25 and 5.5.17 would be updated to reflect the council’s commitment to net zero carbon;

•               in relation to anaerobic digestion units the wording of policy W3 would be amended to emphasise it would only be intended to manage natural wastes generated primarily on the unit where it is situated;

•               it was noted that the policy would need to be supported by evidence and that there would potentially be locations where sharing a unit between more than one site would be beneficial;

•               policy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34