The council received responses from over 3,700 individual residents, special interest groups and other organisations as well as comments from all seven district and borough councils. The council said the number of individual points raised exceeds 14,000.
Explaining his decision to delay publication of the draft plan from the originally announced February 2004 to Autumn 2004, the council's cabinet member responsible for waste, Steve Waight, said the extra time was needed to consider every comment fully.
Mr Waight said: “We need to assess the concerns that people have raised, investigate them in more depth and show, where possible, how they are being addressed. The process allows and indeed encourages us to discuss the issues raised with objectors. This should also help reduce the length and cost of the inquiry that will take place before the Plan is adopted.”
Other factors that have contributed to Mr Waight's decision to hold back the council's draft plan include Parliament's delay in passing the Planning Bill, which was due to be passed last summer, and the delay to the South East England Regional Assembly's draft Regional Waste Strategy. The Assembly is proposing tougher recycling targets in its Waste Strategy following a public consultation (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mr Waight explained: “Some people may say that this delay will lead to continuing uncertainty. I say that it will help us to prepare a better plan, which will also now be able to take proper account of the Regional Waste Strategy. We will also have to see how the Planning Bill finally deals with these issues, and this continues to be delayed in Parliament.”
The inquiry for the Waste Local Plan is now expected to take place between November 2005 and January 2006, with adoption due in March 2007.
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