Regulation
Staffordshire is a beautiful county with a wonderful and diverse environment that needs protection from abuse.
The Planning Regulation Team are determined to protect Staffordshire's countryside and the right of local people to expect a robust planning system which safeguards their landscape, and ensures unauthorised waste tipping and mineral operations do not damage and pollute the amenity of the area. We take unlawful development seriously. We will do all we can to resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. We will explore all the solutions available to us. If necessary, as a last resort, we may take formal legal action. This is the job of the Planning Regulation Team.
The team, together with other regulators (such as the Environment Agency) monitors operations at over 250 'active' quarries and waste management facilities. The aim of the team is to minimize the impact to the environment from these permitted operations by ensuring that conditions attached to planning permissions for minerals extraction and waste management facilities are met. Conditions are agreed during the planning process to provide the controls necessary for the team to achieve this aim.
Following these vitally important operations the team ensures that the land is properly restored to a beneficial land use.
Monitoring Fees
As of 6 April 2006 Government legislation set out in Statutory Instrument 2006 No 994 and accompanying Explanatory Memo, Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities have powers to charge site operators for any monitoring visits undertaken.
The Planning Regulation Team has now implemented a scheme whereby sites with either a mineral extraction or landfill interest will be charged for relevant monitoring visits. The current national fee that can be charged per monitoring visit is £288 for an active site and £96 for inactive or dormant sites. Sites are subject to a maximum number of 8 chargeable visits per year for which a fee is payable. Generally where active sites are compliant with planning conditions there should be no more than 4 visits per year.
There are 3 ways to pay for a monitoring visit when you receive an invoice from us. To find out how click here:
Payments should be received within 28 days of the invoice date to avoid the need for further recovery action.
Other waste management sites that do not contain an element of mineral extraction or landfill are not currently charged for monitoring visits.
Regulation Policy
Guided by the 
Statement of Monitoring and Enforcement Policy - December 2003, the team aim to visit every operational site in accordance with the schedule of visits established at the start of each year. Details of the number of sites we monitor, and the frequency of visits can be found in Section 5 of the Statement of Monitoring and Enforcement Policy - December 2003.
The team can encounter rogue operators who pay scant regard either to the law or the environment. Luckily the vast majority of operators are reputable and considerate, and work closely with our team to help protect the environment.
To contact us click here
To make a complaint click here
Our Service
We are always trying to improve the service that we provide. All comments that we receive will be taken seriously and used to help us improve our Planning Regulation service. Please contact us using the link above if you would like to make any comments or suggestions about our Planning Regulation service.
We produce a performance report every year which is available on the 'How well are we doing page'. To view our annual reports click here
Portal A to Z for more help and information.
Last Modified: 20 July 2006, 20:55
Last Modified: 17 September 2008, 08:11
Page Last Modified:
13/09/2007 13:20:47
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