Minerals and waste plan under way
June 1, 2010 11:46 AM
How waste is managed, and the minerals to be extracted and handled in Kent, are important questions for the county's future. To find the answers, Kent County Council has embarked on producing a major new plan called the Minerals and Waste Development Framework covering the next 20 years.
The process will involve consultation with residents, the minerals and waste industry, local councils, and environment and community organisations. Their views will be fed into production of the new plan.
The plan will set out the sites to be used for waste uses, and the mineral reserves to be used or safeguarded for the future. New development proposals for minerals and waste should match up to the policies of the plan, which will cover minerals such as sand, stone and chalk, and all types of waste, such as household, industrial and commercial, and construction waste.
Two workshops were held on 24th and 26th May in Maidstone to introduce the process to the industry, to local councils, and to environment and community organisations. The County Council has called on the minerals and waste industry to identify their preferred sites, so that they can be assessed for their suitability for the environment, sustainability, access and other considerations.
There will be three consultations in the process. The first of these is scheduled for autumn this year. Consultees and residents will be kept updated throughout the process online at www.kent.gov.uk/mwdf.
The aim is to adopt a core strategy at the end of 2012. Two further documents detailing sites for minerals and waste will follow a year later.
Kent County Council is required to produce a Minerals and Waste Development Framework under current planning legislation. Policies and proposals for minerals and waste planning for 15 to 20 years ahead will be included. It will replace the existing Kent Minerals Local Plan and Kent Waste Local Plan.
At present 760,000 tonnes of household waste are produced in Kent each year. The volume of waste from commerce and industry is about twice that, and the construction industry produces 2.6 million tonnes.
About 2.5 million tonnes of construction aggregates in the form of sand, gravel and crushed rock, are produced in Kent each year, and 1 million tonnes of recycled aggregates. Nearly 3.5 million tonnes of aggregates are imported via Kent by sea and rail, serving a wider regional market.
The framework will be produced by a small team in the County Council's Integrated Strategy and Planning Division, part of the Environment, Highways and Waste Directorate at Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone.
The contractual arrangements for the disposal of household waste collected by District Councils are not covered by the Framework. That is the responsibility of Kent County Council's Waste Management Unit.