Decision details

To seek authority to carry out further consultation on opportunities for meeting the need for sharp sand and gravel in the plan area.

      i.        the Draft Joint Central and Eastern Berkshire Minerals and Waste Local

Plan – focussed consultation document is agreed.

     ii.        the approach to consultation as set out in paras 5.10 - 5.13 of the Director: Place, Planning & Regeneration’s report is agreed.

    iii.        any minor changes to the focussed consultation (relevant to

Bracknell Forest) following Executive are agreed by the Director Place

Planning and Regeneration in consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Transport.

       i.          It is important that the Council has an up to date and robust planning framework to guide development which reflects current national policy and guidance. The preparation of Joint Minerals and Waste Plan will ensure that this is in place.

      ii.          The joint plan must be prepared in consultation with the local community and other stakeholders. To-date several information gathering consultations have been achieved to inform the Plan, each of these form part of the preparation stage of Planmaking (Regulation 181):

- In Summer 2017, an ‘Issues and Options’ consultation was undertaken to gather technical information and confirm the evidence base;

- During Summer / Autumn 2018, a ‘Draft Plan’ consultation set out the proposed approach for the Joint Minerals and Waste Plan.

- Due to a limited number of site options, a further ‘Call for Sites’ exercise was

carried out. This resulted in an addition site (Bray Quarry Extension) being

proposed. This was subject to consultation during the Summer 2019.

     iii.          Following the above consultation one of the proposed allocations within Wokingham Borough has been withdrawn following the council refusing an application for mineral extraction, and the landowner withdrawing the site from the plan process. As such a further call for sites was undertaken in the Autumn. This has identified two further sites that could be considered for minerals development. As such these sites need to be consulted upon. These sites are within Wokingham Borough and The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead,

    iv.          As the plan area does not have sufficient sites to provide enough Sand and Gravel for the area up until 2036, an “Area of Search” approach will also being consulted upon. This identifies where across the plan area sand and gravel deposits exist.

      v.           The final element of this consultation document is a draft policy to enable the past performance of a minerals or waste site operator, to be considered as a material consideration when determining a new minerals or waste proposal.

    vi.          The preparation of the Joint Minerals and Waste Plan will support the priorities as set out in the Council Plan 2019 – 2024, in particular; ‘Economic Resilience and Protecting and Enhancing our Environment’.

1.     The Council could have sought to provide plan coverage for Minerals and Waste in its Local Plan, rather than preparing a separate plan, however due to the strategic nature of Minerals and Waste issues and the specialist knowledge required in this area this was ruled out at an early stage. Creating a joint plan creates economies of scale and enables the council to deal with Minerals and Waste issues strategically.

2.     The issues covered in the focussed consultation could have been included in the submission version of the plan, however this was considered a risk to the soundness of the Plan.

None

Consultation to take place under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

Public, specific and general consultation bodies, including those involved in the minerals industry.