Planning changes should help councils meet waste strategy targets

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has produced a consultation paper which revises the Town & Country Planning Regulations 1980. It hopes this will bring an end to confusion over whether waste planning applications in two-tier authorities are a matter for the county or district council. The proposed amendment would make all waste planning applications a county matter and is likely to be submitted to Parliament for approval soon after the General Election.

In comments to the Department, the Planning Officers’ Society has in the past put forward concerns about the situation as the confusion over which type of council was responsible, was hampering local authorities’ ability to carry out their role as waste planning authorities.

David Stritch, of the minerals and waste planning division in the DETR, said: “The changes will definitely speed up planning proposals. We hope it will improve the current situation as waste management proposals have an impact on meeting the targets of the waste strategy.

“We are currently in the process of final consultation. Everyone seems happy including the councils and the Planning Officers’ Society, but we don’t want the legislation to go through and for it to be pointed out that we haven’t considered something.”

Speed up

Lonek Wojtulewicz, group manager for environmental control at Leicestershire County Council, said: “This is what people have been calling for. The new regulations should speed up the planning process. The sooner it comes in the better.”

Mr Stritch added: “The area needs resolving as for certain waste developments there is some uncertainty as to which council should determine the planning applications. In the past we have offered guidance to try and overcome this problem but it was becoming less effective and so we are proposing to change legislation so that all waste planning applications become a county council matter.”

There has been particular confusion over who was responsible for scrap yards and waste transfer stations and applications could be passed between the county and district council mid-way through the application process. The DETR said that in some areas county councils have been dealing with applications while in other areas district councils have. There have also been cases where the councils could not agree and the applications were left in limbo.