Agenda item

To consider the reports of the Cabinet and to receive answers to any questions asked on those reports as follows:

a)    Reports of Cabinet – Matters which require a decision (Yellow pages); and

b)    Report of Cabinet – Summary of decisions taken (White pages).

The Council considered the Minerals Local Plan.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure introduced the report and commented that subject to Council’s agreement, the Minerals Local Plan would go out to pre-submission consultation from the middle of August until the end of September. Subject to any modifications, the Plan would be submitted to the Secretary of State for formal Examination in Public. Following the report of the Inspector and subject to further modification, the Plan would return to Council for final approval. This process would take approximately 18 months. The Plan gave an indication of where resources were available in the county but was not associated with the planning process. He assured the residents of Lea Castle, near Kidderminster that their concerns about mineral extraction would be taken into account should an application for planning permission be submitted for consideration by the Planning and Regulatory Committee and he anticipated that any subsequent planning conditions would be rigorously enforced. He encouraged local residents to establish community liaison groups to enable the Council to better understand their concerns. It was vital that any proposals for housing developments did not sterilise the availability of mineral resources

·         The Leader of the Council commented that the Plan had taken a long time to get to this point. The best way to govern minerals extraction was to have a relevant Minerals Local Plan. The alternative was to rely on regulation through the NPPF which represented a far more open and liberal means of regulation. This Plan gave the Council greater control over the planning process in terms of being able to set of robust conditions, hours of operation and site restoration

·         The Council needed to be able to access minerals within the county to provide support to the local construction industry. It was also environmentally beneficial to use local resources rather than bringing material into the County from elsewhere

·         The Plan was not only important to establish where materials could be sourced but also to demonstrate the Council’s approach to site restoration

·         The Plan did not set out where minerals would be extracted but would establish the local parameters in which applications for mineral extraction would be considered

·         The plan would enable the Council to control speculative and opportunistic applications for minerals extraction in the county, particularly in the Lower Severn Strategic Corridor

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Council for the work of Marianne Pomeroy and Emily Barker in preparing the Plan.

RESOLVED: that

a)    the Publication Version of the Worcestershire Minerals Local Plan for Regulation 19 consultation be approved;

b)   the Director of Economy and Infrastructure be authorised to carry out such Regulation 19 consultation;

c)    the Director of Economy and Infrastructure be authorised to approve any minor amendments to the Publication Version of the Minerals Local Plan arising from the Regulation 19 consultation, prior to submission to the Secretary of State for Examination;

d)   submission of the Publication Version of the Minerals Local Plan, amended as appropriate, to the Secretary of State for formal Examination following Regulation 19 consultation be approved;

e)    the Director of Economy and Infrastructure be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with responsibility, to undertake consultation as necessary on any modifications arising from that Examination; and

f)     the Minerals Local Plan is returned to Full Council with the Inspector's recommendations with a view to final decision on its adoption.