Why do we plan?

Minerals and Waste planning is our statutory duty. We have a legal requirement to prepare a Minerals and Waste Local Development Framework (MWLDF) to replace the old Minerals and Waste Local Plan (BMWLP), which is currently the adopted plan for Buckinghamshire until 2016. This plan will establish the policies for minerals production and waste management within the county. The MWLDF team formulate planning policy and the Development Control Team use these policies to determine new planning applications and enforce any breaches of planning permission.

Planning is an important area to ensure there are enough allocated and permitted site facilities to handle all the waste generated and mineral demand within the county.

Minerals

As a planning authority we must still work towards providing a 7 year landbank of sand and gravel resources for the county to ensure that provision of aggregate supports economic growth within the county.

The Secretary of State has recently confirmed (25th June 2010) that the authorities should use the figures put forward for the South East Plan's Policy M3 Examination in Public as an appropriate apportionment which we will be testing at the submission of the Minerals and Waste Development Plan Document. This equates to 1.05mtpa (million tonnes per annum) for Buckinghamshire. The extract from the relevant letter is below:

'Minerals planning authorities will have responsibility for continuing to plan for a steady and adequate supply of aggregate minerals to support economic growth. They should do this within the longstanding arrangements for minerals planning. Technical advice provided by the Aggregates Working Parties, including their current work in sub-apportioning the CLG guidelines for 2005-2020 to planning authority level will assist with this.

Planning authorities in the South East should work from the apportionment set out in the 'Proposed Changes' to the revision of Policy M3, published on 19th March 2010'.

Waste

Old minerals quarries have historically been utilised for waste management as locations for landfill. There is now an EU and Government requirement to 'divert waste from landfill' through the developing waste processing treatments, such as a composting, recycling, Energy from Waste, Anaerobic Digestion or Mechanical-Biological Treatment facilities.

The coalition government has announced its plans to revoke the Regional Spatial Strategies and as a planning authority we are working to understand the significance of these impacts. The Secretary of State has recently confirmed (25th June 2010) that:

'Planning authorities should continue to press ahead with their waste plans, and provide enough land for waste management facilities to support the sustainable management of waste (including the move away from disposal of waste by landfill). Data and information prepared by partners will continue to assist in this process. For the transitional period this will continue to be the data and information which has been collated by the local authority and industry and other public bodies who currently form the Regional Waste Technical Advisory Bodies. We intend for this function to be transferred to local authorities in due course.'