A number of questions have been submitted to Wiltshire County Council from residents of Whiteparish, answers to which are given below.

1. Has an environmental impact assessment been submitted?

No environmental impact assessment has been submitted. Environmental Impact Assessment is a process applied to planning applications, not to development plans such as the waste local plan.

To assess whether the waste local plan is sustainable in its approach it will be subject to a sustainability appraisal. Such an appraisal will take place further to this consultation phase and is likely to be the subject of public consultation.

2. Has the County Council already chosen a site?

In terms of an exact location of a site within the Area of Search the County Council has not identified one. The Issues and Options document states that more research has to be done to determine if a suitable site exists. If a site had been identified it would have been identified as a Preferred Area such as the ones identified elsewhere in the document.

3. Is the site chosen at the junction with Newton Lane and the A36?

No. No site has been chosen (see answer to question 2).

4. Who will operate the site and for how long?

The identity of the operator is unknown at this stage as the proposals are simply the initial suggestions/ideas of the County Council and may not be progressed further.

However, given that a facility is required to deal with household waste, it would be reasonable to assert that any future developer is likely to be the County Council's waste disposal contractor, Hills Minerals and Waste Ltd. Hills Minerals and Waste Ltd currently have the contract to dispose of all Salisbury District's household waste. The contract lasts for 20 years, expiring in 2016.

Hills have been consulted on the document, and their views are awaited.

 

5. Will the site operate for 5, 6 or 7 days per week and what will the summer/winter opening hours be?

As the Area of Search covers a broad area within which no site or facility has been identified, no consideration has been given to specific site operational times. However, any future proposal within the proposed Area of Search or elsewhere would need to demonstrate that operating times are compatible with any adjoining uses.

6. What will be the daily vehicle movements - own calculations suggest 250 HGV movements per day?

Again, given that no firm proposals exist regarding the location and nature of any household waste facility it is considered inappropriate to speculate specifically how much traffic any new facility would generate. However, it may be useful to know that in 1 year the people of Salisbury generate approx. 50 - 55,000 tonnes of household waste per year. This amounts to roughly 19 dustcart loads of rubbish per day.

7. Why is the document so ill informed and misleading regarding the anticipated traffic impacts on local villages and residents?

The Issues and Options document states that any proposed site should have good access to the main strategic road network, and minimise the disturbance to local communities from the transportation of waste. Any site within the proposed Area of Search would need to demonstrate that these criteria are capable of being met.

8. Please explain how the minimum daily addition of 250 HGV movements in the area is consistent with your policy to ease Salisbury traffic congestion.

As suggested in the answer to question 6, it is considered unlikely that HGV movements would be in the region of 250. Notwithstanding this, it is advised that the Highways Department has been consulted on the document and their comments on traffic and highway matters are awaited. It is also important to note that any submitted planning application would require the detailed traffic impacts to be assessed.

9. Why is the Area of Search so close to the county boundary and is there any understanding that Hampshire and Dorset County Councils will bring their waste to the facility?

The Area of Search is close to the County boundary purely because from an initial assessment of locational constraints e.g. the need to avoid locating in areas protected for their international and national importance, the Area appeared as the least constrained.

There is no understanding with Hampshire or Dorset County Councils that they can use any new facility within the proposed Area of Search for management of their own waste. Each County Council is seeking to provide sufficient waste management facilities to manage their own waste, and this is the situation with both Hampshire and Dorset County Councils. These Authorities have been consulted directly on the document and their views are awaited.

It is intended that any household waste facility in Salisbury District would only serve the needs of the Salisbury District area. The exception to this would be where it is demonstrated that its use for waste from outside the area would be the most sustainable option. This approach is based on the proposed Key Objective 1 in the Issues and Options document, and is intended to reflect Government policy to make allowance for regional self-sufficiency. The views of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions are awaited on this approach.

It is suggested that the use of any new facility by other Authorities is likely to be contrary to this Key Objective 1.

10. With waste being imported from Hampshire (and possibly further afield) has your study taken into account the road conditions, and traffic flows through Wellow on the A36, Sherfield English and Shootash on the A27? Have consultations been carried out with these Parish Councils?

As stated in the answer to question 9, the Area of Search proposals within the Issues and Options document have been put forward on the basis that they will only deal with Salisbury District's household waste. The provision of such a facility to deal with Hampshire's waste would need to demonstrate that this is the most sustainable option, and this would have to include an assessment of the road conditions.

Copies of the Issues and Options document have been sent to the Hampshire Parishes of Hale, Godshill and Bramshaw.

11. Why doesn't the Area of Search meet the stated environmental criteria in Chapter 3 of the Issues and Options document as regards the use of rail? It is also noted that there are no water connections in the Area of Search.

The use of rail as a means of transporting waste is the ideal that we should aim for. In terms of transporting waste in the Salisbury area the use of rail does not appear to be a realistic option given the lack of existing suitable sidings and the high costs and environmental constraints of constructing the necessary facilities. If such an option does exist within the Salisbury area then this possibility should be brought to the notice of the County Council for investigation.

In terms of water connections, again ideally they should be used wherever possible as an alternative to road. However, that areas adjacent to waterways are heavily constrained environmentally and as such not suitable for a waste management facility.

12. Has Wiltshire County Council, its operatives or associates, applied for any European grants for incineration schemes?

No European grants for incineration schemes have been applied for by Wiltshire County Council or it's contractors, Hills Minerals and Waste Ltd.

13. Please explain how leachate contamination of groundwater is acceptable within the Environmental Protection Act Regulations and how the Chapter 3 (environmental protection) criteria will be met.

The contamination by leachate of groundwater supplies would not be acceptable under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act. The proposed policy area in para. 3.5.6 of the document requires that any potential adverse impacts on groundwater would need to be addressed. Any future waste planning applications would need to accord with such a policy. If the proposed policy area appears to be inadequate then views stating the reasons why should be submitted to Wiltshire County Council.

Measures to protect groundwater would include locating facilities away from areas of high risk to aquifers, storing and processing waste in areas/buildings with sealed impermeable bases, having surface water drainage interceptors, and covering waste so that water does not permeate into it.

The Environment Agency, who are mainly responsible for protecting the water environment from pollution, have been consulted on the document and would also be consulted on this aspect should any proposal for a household waste management facility come forward.

14. Please explain the inconsistency of your planning policy the application of which saw the refusal/withdrawal of waste developments at Whiteparish landfill site and Whelpley Farm - both of which are within the Area of Search.

In terms of the Whiteparish landfill site I am unaware of any planning applications to expand this facility that have been refused. There is currently a planning application for a recycling facility at this site, however this is still under consideration and has not been determined.

The application for a landfill site at Whelpley Farm was withdrawn before any Committee decision to refuse or approve it was made. I understand however that the officer opinion at that time was to refuse it as being contrary to planning policy. That application had to be assessed on its own merits, as would any future application proposing for example a different type of waste management facility that was more sensitively designed, located in a different place, of a smaller scale, that recovered value from waste etc. The refusal of one application does not mean that all future and different applications within the proposed Area must also be refused. For example, two planning applications for waste development have actually been approved in the Area of Search.

Each and every proposal must be individually assessed and demonstrate accordance with planning policies.

15. Please explain how the Health and Safety Executive will accept an incinerator and its harmful emissions so close to Whiteparish, where the prevailing wind is southwesterly.

An incinerator is not proposed within the Issues and Options document.

Any emissions from any incinerator would need to be controlled to acceptable levels. The proposed policy area in para. 3.6.2 of the document seeks to address this issue. There are examples of incinerators in this country that operate within the strict environmental controls imposed either through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and/or the Environment Agency (EA).

The HSE and EA have been consulted on the document and their views are awaited. Their comments will be taken into account when reviewing the document. They would also be consulted on the acceptability or otherwise of any incineration proposal should one come forward.

 

16. Please explain how 35ft high chimney structures can be permitted under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 and not be considered as rural vandalism.

No 35ft high chimney structures have been proposed in the document. If such a proposal were to be submitted it might require the submission of an Environmental Statement. The acceptability of the proposal would then have to be considered against planning policies that seek to protect the environment. If it were considered that the proposal did not accord with the environmental protection policies, or any other relevant policies, it would be recommended for refusal.

17. Is it true that Wiltshire County Council have approached a farmer in the Area of Search with an offer to buy his farm?

The County Council is not looking to purchase land within the Area of Search for the purposes of developing a waste management facility of any type.

18. Why was the consultation document so late?

Copies of the Issues and Options document were sent to the Parish Council on 22^nd November 1999. The documents would have been received by the Parish in time for the commencement of the 10-week consultation period on 29^th November 1999. Leaflets and posters promoting the Issues and Options document and advising of the Open Day on the 8^th December 1999 were included in the pack sent to the Parish on 22^nd November 1999, with the request that they be distributed or displayed as appropriate.

Copies of the document were also available for public inspection on the 29^th November at all libraries and mobile libraries in the County, at the District Council Planning Offices and at County Hall. Posters and leaflets promoting the document and the Open Days were all issued to these venues for display. Copies of the document could also be purchased from that date, and free Key Issue Summary Booklets were also made widely available.

The Open Day on the 8^th December 1999 was publicised in the Salisbury Journal through a notice and Press Releases were also issued about the event. Whiteparish Parish Council was also invited in October 1999 to attend the Open Day workshops on the 8th December 1999. There was radio coverage of the events on Spire FM, Wiltshire Sound and GWR. An exhibition that informed the public of the Open Day and the document was placed in Salisbury library on 29^th November for a week and a half.

It is considered that ample time has been provided for a meaningful consultation process. The legal requirement for consultation on the Waste Local Plan is a minimum of 6 weeks. Given the anticipated controversial nature of the Issues and Options document, it was agreed by the Environment and Transport Committee to provide for a 10-week consultation period.

It also should be recognised that Planning Authorities are under pressure from Government to speed up the delivery of their Local Plans. Therefore, a balance needs to be struck between providing for meaningful consultation and progressing the Plan's preparation. It is considered that the appropriate balance has been struck.

An extension to the consultation period has been agreed with Whiteparish Parish Council until 29^th February 2000, to take into account the outcome of today's public meeting. Should individuals also wish to have a longer consultation period, then this should be discussed with Mrs. Rachel Ness (telephone 01225 713422).

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