Future of North London Waste Plan hangs in balance

A ruling by the planning inspectorate could force the North London Waste Plan to be re-drawn, undoing five-and-a-half years of work by local authorities.

The plan has been drawn up by officers from Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest councils and identifies a range of suitable sites for future waste management facilities in North London.

As well as plans for two new waste sites, at Geron Way in Barnet and at Pinkham Way in Haringey, the NWLP sets out the waste strategy for the North London Boroughs until 2027.

The finalised plan was submitted to the government on February 28, with a two-week hearing to determine if the Plan meets legal requirements and is sound beginning yesterday (June 12).

However the hearing was adjourned after two hours, after planning inspectors heard legal submissions from the two waste planning authorities from outside of London – South East Waste Planning Advisory Group and the East of England Waste Technical Advisory Body who claimed that the NWLP did not meet its duty to co-operate with other councils affected by the proposals.

The authorities argued that a considerable proportion of the waste arising within the North London area is currently sent to landfill sites in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, and will continue to do so under the terms of the NLWP.

Hearing

They also claimed that there were no representations made from officers of the NLWP to those affected by the proposals, meaning that the NWLP did not meet its duty of cooperation set out in the Localism Act, brought in last November.

The hearing has now been adjourned for two weeks while the planning inspectorate considers the case put forward by the planning authorities. Should North London be found not to have met its duty to cooperate, the NLWP may need to be redrawn and resubmitted, a process that could take at least two years.

Archie Onslow, programme manager for the North London Waste Plan, said: Should the ruling go against us, there is every likelihood that we will have to start again and it will take a minimum of two years to produce another plan.

This is while the waste authority endeavours to complete a procurement process that will need new facilities up and running, the point of the waste plan was to establish a strategy for the next 15 years.

We now have to wait and see what the findings are, but [if unsuccessful] there is likely to be desperation because five and a half years of work will go down the drain for what is a small change in the plan.

In the event that the plan has to be resubmitted, it is still expected that the North London Waste Authoritys procurement of a waste services and a fuel use contract, thought to be worth in total around 4 billion, will still go ahead, although a delay in the plan could set back the development of new facilities.

A North London Waste Authority spokesperson said: As one of the interested parties who were consulted on the North London Waste Plan, we are obviously disappointed by this delay. Along with the other interested parties we await the Inspectors announcement in a few weeks time.

Minister

The importance of waste plans and getting them agreed early was also highlighted at todays CIWM Conference in London by local government minister Bob Neill.

Addressing delegates, he said: If we are going to make planning work is it important that local people see the direct benefits of the facilities needed.

That is why we talk about having up-to-date local plans. Get the plans produced and take a leadership role on where to put waste facilities which is the best defence against future legal challenges. Take the lead and let people know where is the right place to put those facilities.