(i) To note the attached report (Appendix 1) as initial outcomes from the public consultation process on the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan 2011 – Consultation on Issues and Options document.

4. That the Committee:-

(i) Notes the report attached at Appendix 1 advising of the initial outcomes of the public consultation on the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan 2011 – Consultation on Issues and Options document;

(ii) Requests that officers present a further report on a more detailed assessment of the outcomes of the public consultation process to the 5^th July meeting of the Environment and Transport Committee; and

(iii) Approves the indicative timescale in Appendix C of the report attached at Appendix 1 for the preparation of the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan 2011.

(i) Formal public notices were placed in the main local newspapers to achieve total press coverage of the Plan area. Extensive and substantial additional media coverage was achieved through the issuing of press releases to radio/TV stations and newspapers, the formal ‘launch’ of the document, and through the numerous interviews given by officers to both the papers and radio.

(ii) Unmanned exhibitions were displayed in the main libraries of Chippenham, Devizes, Salisbury, Swindon and Trowbridge. The exhibitions and posters/Key Issue Summary booklets were also displayed in the major supermarkets in Chippenham, Salisbury, Amesbury, Westbury, Devizes, Melksham, Warminster and Marlborough.

(iii) Advertising posters and leaflets were distributed for display to:

(iv) Extracts from the documents Key Issues Summary Booklet were placed on Swindon Borough Council’s website for comment. Wiltshire County Council’s website has yet to be established, although it is envisaged that it will be available by the end of this year, and so available for the first draft deposit of the Plan.

(v) Over 900 letters of consultation were issued to all stakeholder groups including Government agencies/bodies, environmental organisations, business groups, local planning authorities within and adjoining the Plan area, all Parish and Town Councils, waste operators, community organisations and schools/colleges.

(vi) Three interactive Waste Open Days were held at the outset of the consultation period (in each of the waste catchment areas) to which 700 key stakeholders were invited to attend independently facilitated morning seminars/workshops. In the afternoons the general public were invited to view exhibition material and talk with officer representatives from the County, Borough and District Councils, the Environment Agency and the Council’s Waste Contractors.

A total of 107 organisations, representing a diverse range of interests, took part in the morning seminars/workshops, 85% of whom felt they had become better informed. The morning sessions were very beneficial, providing as they did for constructive and varied discussion which has been recorded in an Executive Summary (Appendix A) by the independent facilitator. The full report will be made available in the Members' Room.

Attendance by the public to the afternoon sessions was disappointingly low, despite extensive efforts to publicise and promote the events. To stimulate and increase the general public’s input into the consultation process, the exhibition was extended to include major supermarkets (see 5(ii) above) and public meetings were held as detailed below.

(vii) Following an offer made by Officers to Parish Councils within the proposed Salisbury Area of Search, four very well attended and lengthy public meetings were held in the evenings of late January/February for:

The public meetings discussed the purpose of the consultation process and how and why the proposed Area of Search had been identified. Following requests from local residents for the consultation period to be extended, the timescale was extended by two weeks until 29^th February 2000.

In response to this concern, an independent Waste to Energy Study has been commissioned, which will gather comparative information about the different types of waste to energy technologies available. The information gathered will include: viability and feasibility details; existing facilities in the UK and abroad; siting requirements including the potential to transport waste by rail, and links to the national grid, environmental and health and safety impacts etc. This resulting report will be made publicly available, together with a public information booklet which will be widely distributed to inform and guide the local communities and individuals.

There has been an unfortunate and fundamental misunderstanding by many local residents/organisations commenting on the Area of Search, that decisions have already been made on the type and location of the suggested household waste management facility. Members will be aware that this is not the case, as the Issues and Options document simply seeks to identify the issues, suggests options and asks for people’s views on the suggestions made. It is a mechanism for finding out what people think, and the representations now received will influence the content of the first deposit draft of the Waste Local Plan. Whilst local people have been encouraged to participate actively in the Plan’s preparation at the earliest possible stage (as required by Central Government in Planning Policy Guidance Note 12), the lack of firm proposals caused much frustration to local residents at the public meetings. However, it is hoped that working with the communities through the Waste Forum will further demonstrate the genuine commitment by the County and Borough Councils to active and full public participation in the preparation of the Waste Local Plan.

To address this particularly controversial aspect of the Issues and Options document, the site investigations into the Area of Search have been prioritised, and the outcome of this research will be reported to the meeting of the Working Party in June 2000. Furthermore, legal advice has been sought on whether or not controls can be exerted, either through the Waste Disposal Contract or the planning system, to limit the management by any new facility to that of household waste arising from within the Salisbury waste catchment area.

(i) The Joint Structure Plan Working Party note the above as initial outcomes from the public consultation process on the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan 2011 – Consultations on Issues and Options Document.

(ii) Officers be requested to present a further report on a more detailed assessment of the outcome of the public consultation process, to the June meeting of this Working Party.

(iii) The Joint Structure Plan Working Party approve the indicative timescales in Appendix C for the preparation of the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan 2011.

(iv) The conclusions of the Joint Structure Plan Working Party be presented to the Environment and Transport Committee of Wiltshire County Council on 10^th May 2000, and the Cabinet of Swindon Borough Council.