It is considered that sufficient time has been provided for meaningful consultation.
The Issues and Options document is the first stage of the Waste Local Plan's preparation process and there will be many more opportunities to influence its content.
The County Council has a legal responsibility to produce a Waste Local Plan, which addresses the land-use aspects of managing waste. The Issues and Options document is the first stage in producing such a Plan. It is not allowed to address issues that are outside the scope of the land-use planning system. Initiating measures to reduce the amount of waste produced is not a land-use planning matter. Whilst Wiltshire County Council works with and supports the organisations whose job it is to promote waste reduction e.g. the District Councils, Local Agenda 21, the Environment Agency, it would be inappropriate to promote actions in the Plan which are not land-use based. The Issues and Options document does however support in principle the need to reduce waste production.
It should also be noted that even if the amount of rubbish does start to reduce, it would take along time before it reduces significantly, and facilities need to be provided in the mean time.
The Issues and Options document can and does address the issue of recycling, in terms of ensuring that there are sufficient recycling facilities/sites available to achieve higher recycling rates. Across the Plan area the document proposes possible sites for Household Recycling Facilities and suggests that in new development over a certain size, neighbourhood recycling facilities should be built into the project at the start.
There are several mechanisms open to you to input into the decision making process:
The formal end of the consultation period is 7th February 2000. Should individuals wish to have a longer consultation period, then this should be discussed with Mrs. Rachel Ness (telephone 01225 713422).
Following the consultation process the representations received will be reported to the County Council's Environment and Transport Committee, who will take them into account when they decide how to progress the document. A copy of the committee report will be made available to the public.
It is also the intention to establish a Waste Forum at which a representative from the Parish Council would be invited to attend (it would not necessarily have to be a Parish Councillor). The Forum's remit and format have yet to be determined but it will provide for discussion of the concerns raised through the consultation process e.g. the use of incinerators, the choice of sites etc. The Forum discussions will also feed into the plan preparation process.
It terms of explaining the Issues and Options document to local meetings such as the one tonight, it will be officers from Wiltshire County Council who attend.
Independent facilitators (from Yorkshire Planning Aid) were retained to present the proposals at the three Open Day events held in the Plan Area, including the Open Day held in Salisbury on 8th December 1999. The feedback about the Open Day workshops was very positive and, due to their independent nature, the facilitators were able to lead very constructive discussions on the key issues.
The County Council is not aware of any planning applications or interim proposals for the development of a new incinerator or landfill site in the Area of Search. Nor is the County Council aware of any proposals to upgrade any existing mineral extraction/ waste management operation to provide for an integrated waste management facility.
The Issues and Options document suggests that each of three waste catchment areas (that is Salisbury, Central and West Wiltshire and Swindon) should be sufficient in managing their own waste. As such the suggested household waste management facility would need to be of a size capable of managing the household waste generated in Salisbury District. At current levels there is approximately 50 - 55,000 tonnes of municipal waste collected every year in Salisbury District. The Issues and Options does not propose an incinerator but simply states that the facility may comprise one or more of the following facilities - recycling, composting or waste to energy, with landfill not forming a major element of any scheme.
Waste to energy could comprise incineration with energy recovery, gasification or pyrolysis techniques, all of which are explained in more detail in Chapter 7 of the Issues and Options document.
The nature of any facility would be left to the market to decide, although its acceptability or otherwise would be assessed by the County Council.
The viability of any site within the Area of Search (should one be found) has not been considered in terms of any of the possible waste management techniques available. When further research is undertaken into the Area of Search option and the other site options being put forward, then the requirements of different technologies will be assessed.
Whilst the proposed Area of Search is located within the countryside it is not located within a designated greenbelt.
From discussions with Salisbury District Council it appeared that there were no suitable brownfield sites within Salisbury that could satisfactorily accommodate an integrated waste management facility. However, should it become apparent through the consultation process that suitable brownfield sites do exist, then these will be considered as potential options.
For the answer to this question please see the answer given for question 1.
The Issues and Options document does not suggest that the outcome of any environmental impact assessment is likely to be favourable in the proposed Area of Search. On the contrary, it states that far more detailed research needs to be undertaken even to establish whether the Area is likely to be suitable.
Any Environmental Statement would not be undertaken by the County Council, but by a developer.
For the answer to this question please see the answer given to question 14.
The household waste management facility suggested in the Issues and Options document would be to cater for the household waste needs of Salisbury District. Whether or not a suitably sized site can be found within the proposed Area of Search remains to be seen as a result of the more in depth research that is required.
Salisbury District is an area covered by many environmental constraints. Many of these constraints are of international/national significance such as Special Protection Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest etc. the development within which of a major waste facility is unlikely to be acceptable. Other constraints are of more local importance and would not count as overriding objections. From an assessment of these constraints, appropriate road links and in recognising the need to locate any facility as close as possible to the main source of waste arising (i.e. Salisbury), the Area of Search came forward as the least locationally constrained. However, other options have been put forward as a result of the consultation process, and their suitability will be assessed as will the suitability of the Area of Search.
The proposed site would be part of a County wide network of strategic facilities. The intention of such a network is that each waste catchment area (i.e. Salisbury, Central and West Wiltshire and Swindon) should be capable of managing its own waste. Strategic facilities have been proposed in Westbury to serve the Central and West Wiltshire area and a strategic facility is proposed at a site in Swindon.
An objective of this approach is to ensure that the transportation of waste is minimised, dealing with waste as close as possible to where it arises. Such an approach is based on government policy. Any centrally located facility to serve all of Wiltshire would need to be of a huge scale and would necessitate the transportation of waste from longer distances all over the County. An initial reaction to such an approach is that it may conflict with Government policy on transportation and waste. However, it is an option that has been put forward and as such will be investigated.
Preliminary consultations were held with the County Council's Highway Department as to the potential suitability or otherwise of roads in the area. It is the Highway Department who is responsible for advising on the acceptability or otherwise of the highway/traffic implications associated with new developments.
Both the Highway Department and Salisbury District Council have been consulted on the Issues and Options document, and their views are awaited. Their comments will be taken into account when reviewing the Plan.
Any waste development proposal would need to demonstrate that the highway/traffic impacts can be controlled to acceptable levels (see proposed policy at para. 3.7.4 in the Issues and Options document).
For the answer to this question please see the answer to question 9.
Should further research reveal that a suitable site does exist within the proposed Area of Search, it would need to demonstrate that environmental impacts are reduced to acceptable levels. The Issues and Options document does suggest a policy area to protect the New Forest Heritage Area (see para. 3.10.3) and any future proposals for waste development would need to comply with the agreed policy.
The New Forest Committee has been consulted on the document, and their views are awaited. Their comments will be taken into account when reviewing the document.
The Issues and options document is the first stage of the preparation process for the Waste Local Plan. An initial assessment of locational constraints has tentatively indicated that a suitable site may be found in the proposed Area of Search. The document states that much more detailed investigative work is required and this will be undertaken over the next 8 -- 10 months. In addition the other site options suggested as a result of this consultation process will similarly be investigated.
Should it be shown as a result of the investigative work that no site within the Area of Search is suitable for the location of an integrated household waste management facility, then it will of course be withdrawn.