The government's pledge to put greater planning powers in the hands of local authorities must not impede the development of waste infrastructure, two major trade bodies have warned.
I don't want to see ‘localism' become an excuse for blocking all sorts of things we think are necessary
Steve Lee, chief executive, CIWM
Speaking at the ‘Green Economics' event at the House of Commons yesterday (October 27), the Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) said that around £10 to £20 billion worth of investment would be needed in the sector over the next decade.
But, they said that the forthcoming Decentralisation and Localism Bill – which is set to grant local authorities greater power over planning proposals and will be published next month-could potentially “slow down” waste infrastructure developments in the planning process.
ESA chairman Ian Goodfellow said: “It is absolutely vital that the ‘localism' agenda does not put the brakes on our procurement of sites over the next five to 10 years. We need to develop up to £10 to £20 billion worth of capacity over the next five to 10 years, what other industry is faced with an opportunity like that, where there is a role for all technologies going forward but planning is going to be key critical.”
Mr Goodfellow's comments coincided with the trade association launching its policy proposal document, as reported by letsrecycle.com yesterday (October 27), which called on the government to redress the planning system to aid waste infrastructure (see letsrecycle.com story).
Steve Lee, chief executive of the CIWM, added that the waste sector was “committed” to developing large-scale infrastructure but called for greater support from central government.
He said: “[Development] has got to be Defra-led and I don't want to see ‘localism' become an excuse for blocking all sorts of things we think are necessary at a time when we can't afford to slow down.”
Minister
Also speaking at the event, which was organised by the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group, recycling minister Lord Henley gave a brief overview of existing government work on waste and recycling and said the ‘localism' agenda would ensure “people have more power over how money is spent in their local authority”.
He also announced plans for a ‘Green Economy Roadmap', which he said would help develop a “strong and sustainable green economy that is resilient to carbon growth”.
“Only in a growing economy, and I say ‘growing' not ‘shrinking' economy, can government use the innovations that we need for a prosperous growth and we aim to achieve that,” he said. “We need to create the right incentives for industry and we also have to be the government that leads by example, we have got to manage the sustainable assets in the right way and get our procurement right.”
The minister added that Defra had formed a ‘working group' for the roadmap and it was expected to be published in spring 2011.
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