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 W3 would also be amended to emphasise the requirement to deliver nutrient neutrality, or betterment, within the River Wye SAC;

•               The plan covered movement and transport of waste with links to transport policies in the core strategy, officers had sought not to repeat policies already included in the core strategy but added specific policies on minerals and waste;

•               The driving factor for this plan was to deal with waste within the county.

The chairman of the general scrutiny committee thanked committee members for their work in considering the draft plan and cabinet members for taking on board the comments and recommendations of the committee. He felt that the summary document produced would be very useful. He noted that further documents had come forward since the scrutiny meeting and while it was recognised that production of a policy such as this was an ongoing process, having access to these documents might have coloured some of the recommendations of the committee. He cautioned that the term ‘permitted’ used next to reference to development could have a different meaning in other situations and that it would be better to find alternative wording.

Group leaders were invited to present the comments and queries of their groups. It was noted that:

•               There was concern about the use of biomass boilers and it was suggested that all councillors should receive a briefing on these units;

•               It was important that the plan sufficiently addressed the issue of phosphates;

•               Paragraph 2 of SP1 was felt to be passive and the wording of SP1 should be reviewed;

•               It was queried if the policy achieved the aspirations of the national planning policy framework with regard to the contributions that secondary materials and recycled materials should make.

In concluding the discussion the cabinet member infrastructure and transport proposed that he be granted delegated authority to review the draft plan in light of the points raised before its submission to Council. This was seconded by the cabinet member environment, economy and skills.

It was resolved that:

a)    that authority be delegated to the cabinet member infrastructure and transport to review the plan in light of amendments discussed at cabinet before submission to council;

b)    the responses, at paragraph 128 of this report, to the recommendations made by General Scrutiny Committee be agreed; and the following be recommended to Full Council;

              i.        the draft Minerals and Waste Local Plan development plan document as amended be approved for pre-submission consultation;

            ii.        authority be delegated to the Programme Director Housing and Growth, following consultation with the Cabinet Member Infrastructure and Transport, to make any technical amendments required to the draft Minerals Local Plan and supporting documents resulting from the completion of ongoing technical work before pre-submission consultation begins; and

           iii.        authority be delegated to the Programme Director Housing and Growth, following consultation with the Cabinet Member Infrastructure and Transport, to make any minor textual or graphical amendments, prior to the submission to the Secretary of State; and

           iv.        following completion of the pre-submission publication of the Minerals and Waste Local Plan and its supporting documents, the documents be submitted to the Secretary of State for Examination in Public.