Waste Core Strategy
The Waste Core Strategy will set out a vision, objectives and spatial strategy for the development of waste management facilities in Staffordshire and the City of Stoke-on-Trent over the next 15 years. The Core Strategy will indicate broad locations for the development of future waste sites and set criteria to be applied to proposals for new development within those broad locations.
A short video has been produced to highlight the issues surrounding planning for waste developments.
Latest news: Consultation on Emerging Draft Waste Strategy
9 August 2010: Consultation has now commenced on the "emerging" draft Waste Core Strategy. The consultation focuses on inviting comments on nine proposed core policies that will be used in making decisions on planning applications relating to new waste management facilities proposed in Staffordshire and in the City of Stoke-on-Trent.
To view the consultation document together with supporting evidence and to comment online, please refer to our e-consultation portal.
We also intend to make available paper copies of the consultation document via Council Offices and local libraries (note these paper copies should be available week commencing 16 August 2010). Please consider responding to the questions in section 5 relating to the draft policies. If you prefer to email your comments, please send to us via
planning@staffordshire.gov.uk or alternatively, post your response to: Planning Development Control Team, Staffordshire County Council, Riverway, Stafford, ST16 3TJ
We would be pleased to receive your comments on or before 5pm on 1 October 2010.
A copy of the Emerging Joint Waste Core Strategy is also available to view below, however we would encourage you to comment online. Using the Consultation Portal will enable you to respond to any or all of the questions included in the document and to see what others have to say about the emerging Strategy.
Emerging Joint Waste Core Strategy (adobe pdf, 2.48mb)
Five background evidence reports have also been produced to support the emerging Joint Waste Core Strategy, which can be viewed here:
Evidence Base Report 1 - Waste facilities ( Adobe pdf, 969kb)
Evidence Base Report 2 - Managing Municipal and Commercial & Industrial Waste Streams (Adobe pdf, 2.2mb)
Evidence Base Report 3 - Managing Construction, Demolition and Excavation Waste (Adobe pdf, 303kb)
Evidence Base Report 4 - Maintaining Landfill Capacity (Adobe pdf, 303kb)
Evidence Base Report 5 - Managing Hazardous Waste, Radioactive Waste, Agricultural Waste and Sewage and Water Waste (Adobe pdf, 271kb)
Since the second consultation on issues and options and submission of site options in 2008, further work has also been carried out in relation to identifying potential sites suitable for the development of waste management facilities.
A site assessment study was undertaken by Land Use Consultants to consider the suitability of different site options for accommodating new waste facilities (enclosed, enclosed thermal, and open air) in order to meet the waste management capacity gap (in terms of having sufficient waste management facilities and capacity by 2025/26 to manage an equivalent tonnage of waste to that produced within Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent). This involved assessing sites, including those submitted by landowners and the Industry at the end of 2008, in terms of meeting objectives for sustainable development including the assessment of flood risks and risk of adverse impacts on internationally important sites of ecological interest.
The assessment of potential sites provides evidence to demonstrate that there are a range of sites available to meet the future waste management needs of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Given the modest capacity gap and given evidence that concludes there is no requirement to identify sites for major strategic waste facilities, it is therefore proposed not to identify specific sites but rather to base the Waste Core Strategy on the identification of broad locations for new and enhanced waste management facilities and to meet the capacity shortfall through the usual planning application process without the need to allocate sites in a Development Plan Document. The Site Assessment Report is available to view here.
This report is accompanied by an Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) report and a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) report which are available to view below:
Habitats Regulation Assessment (Adobe pdf, 7.2mb)
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (Adobe pdf, 3.2mb)
The Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment of the Waste Core Strategy
To ensure that the policies in the Waste Core Strategy contribute to the achievement of sustainable development there is a legal requirement to carry out a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) incorporating a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The purpose of the SA process is to ensure that the principles of sustainable development are fully integrated into the emerging policies and proposals. To find out visit our SA page.
All strategic site proposals will be subject to scoping for compliance with the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) - for more details visit our SFRA page.
All sites will also need to be subject to an assessment in accordance with the EU Habitats Directive to determine whether or not there are any impacts on ecological sites of international importance - for more details visit our
HRA page.
Developers submitting strategic site proposals should consider the advice available on our SA, SFRA and HRA pages.
Contact details
To discuss the Waste Core Strategy contact:
Julie Castree-Denton Waste Planning Policy Team Leader
tel. 01785 277293
Alfia Cox Senior Planning Officer
tel. 01785 277271
Michael Dinn Senior Planning Officer
tel. 01785 277726
Background to the Waste Core Strategy
Issues & Options
One of the first stages in preparing the Waste Core Strategy is to identify the relevant issues, as well as any realistic options for tackling those issues, that need to be addressed in the Waste Core Strategy.
Capita Symonds prepared an issues and options document on behalf of Staffordshire County Council which was reported to Planning Committee in March 2007.
Issues and Option - report (15 March 2007)
Issues and options document (Appendix A to the report)
Public consultation then followed for a six week consultation period from 30 March 2007 to 11 May 2007 on the following document.
The first part of the document explains the context for waste planning in Staffordshire and describes the background to the waste management industry in the County and the main drivers which are likely to change the nature of waste management in the area in the future. The second part sets out the ten key issues which we consider need to be addressed in developing the strategy for the future and some of the alternative options available to deal with those issues.
Issues & Options for the Waste Core Strategy
In July 2007 Planning Committee received a report on the 39 respondents who submitted 29 questionnaires in response to the issues and options consultation document. The report contains a summary of the responses (Appendix A). A more detailed schedule of the responses is available below.
Schedule of responses to the issues and options (note: 101 pages)
The Planning Committee report also recommended a new way forward for the Waste Core Strategy in response to the advice we received from the Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM) and the recent publication of "lessons learnt" by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). The GOWM and PINS advice suggested that the Core Strategy will need to provide a clear spatial strategy which identifies "strategic sites" and "broad locations" for future waste development. The report sets out a revised programme to take the Waste Core Strategy forward with this in mind.
Issues and Options report back and update on preparing the Waste Core Strategy - report (12 July 2007)
To view the latest advice from the Planning Inspectorate click here
In November 2007 the Planning Committee accepted the planning and financial benefits of joint working explained in a report and so Staffordshire County Council are now to prepare a joint Waste Core Strategy with Stoke-on-Trent City Council. This is the same approach that was followed with the predecessor to the Waste Core Strategy, namely the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Waste Local Plan.
Report to Planning Committee - 8 November 2007
A brief was sent out in November 2007 to consultants inviting bids to do further work to develop our understanding of the evidence base in terms of the existing provision of waste management facilities and to help determine the requirements for new waste management facilities over the next 10 to 20 years. This work required the revisions to the Regional Spatial Strategy to be taken into account. The consultants commenced their work in December 2007.
Issues and Options 2
In response to the requirement that the Core Strategy needs to identify "broad locations" or "strategic sites" for future waste management facilities, it was necessary to gather evidence on alternative options for future sites. A second stage Issues and Options consultation was deemed necessary in preparation of a Strategy that is more "place focused". Please note that the first stage Issues and Options consultation that took place in March 2007 related only to Staffordshire. The principle of a Joint Waste Core Strategy with Stoke-on-Trent City Council was agreed in November 2007.
The Issues & Options 2 document, approved by Planning Committee on 3 July 2008 for public consultation, provides an overview or 'spatial portrait' of waste treatment facilities throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and then highlights the main drivers affecting waste planning that need to be addressed by the Waste Core Strategy. It develops the locally distinctive vision, spatially specific waste site options, and develops a set of requirements and method of assessing potential site options.
In consideration of the issues and options for the Joint Waste Core Strategy, comments were invited in relation to twelve issues and fifteen questions during October and November 2008. 40 respondents engaged with the process to make comments on the published documents and 28 site proposals were also submitted in response to the invitation for sites for future waste management facilities.
For a summary profile and location map of the strategic site options submitted by the waste industry click
here.
An update report was presented to the Planning Committee on 5 March 2009. The report contains a summary of the consultation responses (Appendix A), a list of respondents (Appendix B), a list of site submissions (Appendix C), and a plan of site submissions (Appendix D) (available here (see Agenda item 86)(and 'Background' below)).
The consultation documents are still available to read and all of the individual responses can be viewed by using our e-consultation portal.
Further information relating to waste data can be viewed here.
If you wish to view a full schedule of comments relating to the issues and options consultation please click below:
Schedule of Comments (32 pages).
Subsequent news July 2008 - July 2010
3 July 2008 - Report to Planning Committee to approve Issues and Options 2 for public consultation - for details click here (see Agenda item 18)(and 'Background' below).
5 March 2009 - Strategy update report considered by Planning Committee - for details click here (see Agenda item 86)
August 2009 - current working programme updated on our Minerals and Waste Development Scheme page - for details click here
January 2010 - current working programme updated on our Minerals and Waste Development Scheme
May 2010 - current working programme updated on our Minerals and Waste Development Scheme
3 June 2010 - Update report presented to
Planning Committee (refer to agenda item 9) on work relating to preparation of the "emerging" Joint Waste Core Strategy.
1 July 2010 - Report to be presented to Planning Committee (refer to agenda item 6) seeking approval for a draft Strategy to be used for consultation. A draft version of the consultation document is appended to the Committee Report and it is proposed to commence consultation in August.
5 July 2010 - The draft strategy for consultation was approved by Planning Committee on the 1 July 2010. Consultation on the draft strategy is due to start the week commencing 9 August and last until the end of September.
Last Modified:
12/08/2010 14:39:12
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