5 Overarching Policies.


Sustainable Development.

5.1 The overall aim of sustainable development is fundamental to the strategy of the Waste Local Plan. To achieve this primary aim, it is not only essential that we seek to reduce and re-use waste but also that all waste management facilities maximise the recovery of resources from waste arisings where this is practical and appropriate. This can be achieved through recycling, composting or energy recovery. Additionally, the County Council recognises the desirability of providing a network of facilities in order to allow waste to be managed in such a way as to minimise harm to the environment.

5.2 Sustainable Waste Management is based on the principles of:

  • The minimisation of harm to the environment;
  • Encouraging a move away from the disposal of waste towards waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery, which are higher in the Waste Hierarchy (see para. 4.2);
  • The location of recovery and disposal facilities closer to the sources of waste to limit the distance for transporting waste – the Proximity Principle;
  • The management of each waste stream within the region from which it is sourced - Regional Self Sufficiency;
  • The development of the economic potential of a sustainable waste industry through a range of complementary waste management facilities; and,
  • Encouraging development which satisfies all of the above, without having detrimental impacts upon existing communities and community development.

5.3 The principles of sustainability are set out in the key principles of the Plan and in key policies which over-arch all other policy provisions in the Plan. Account should therefore be taken of these overarching policies in addition to any other relevant policies, when considering any waste development proposal in the County.

Best Practical Environmental Option.

5.4 A sustainable system of waste management requires that a whole range of factors are taken into account in making decisions on how best to manage waste and ensure that this represents the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO). The BPEO procedure is an objective means of determining the most appropriate waste management option for a particular situation which meets the aims of sustainable waste management. The BPEO will vary over time from area to area and for each particular waste type. The BPEO for a particular type of waste is likely to be a mix of different waste management methods.

5.5 The importance of identifying the BPEO is given considerable weight in Government guidance and the National Waste Strategy, which advises that local authorities will need to adopt an integrated approach which recognises that each step in the waste management process is part of a whole. Evaluating the BPEO must take into account the Waste Hierarchy, Regional Self Sufficiency, and the Proximity Principle and consider economic and social considerations as well as environmental and resource impacts. In particular it must recognise that environmental, social and economic costs of transporting waste are also an essential part of the BPEO criteria.

5.6 When proposing a particular waste management facility, it is the applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate that the proposal represents the BPEO. In identifying the BPEO, a range of criteria will need to be considered, including an appropriate combination of land use planning issues, an Environmental Statement, life cycle analysis and social and economic factors. However, the level of detail required in any assessment will depend upon the size and scale of the proposal. For example, a small scale recycling facility is less likely to cause significant harm and will serve only the local area compared to a larger scale landfill facility which may have wider impacts.

5.7 The assessment of need is also relevant in considering BPEO. If waste capacity was permitted in excess of local need, it could result in waste being imported over longer distances, and discourage the development of facilities closer to the origin of waste. This would be contrary to the proximity principle and would be unlikely to represent the BPEO.

5.8 A range of tools and techniques are being developed to assist in assessing BPEO. The Environment Agency has developed a 'Life Cycle Analysis' software tool called WISARD to model waste management options flows and impacts.

Policy W 1

Proposals for waste management facilities will be determined having regard to the overall aim of sustainable development. Also, regard will be had to the ability to satisfy the BPEO, the requirements of regional self-sufficiency, the proximity principle and the waste hierarchy.

Need.

5.9 The Waste Local Plan seeks to achieve a major change in the way waste is managed in the County, by providing for appropriate new waste management facilities in the most sustainable locations. To ensure that this takes place, there is a requirement to assess the need for new waste facilities in the County. This assessment of need will not consist of a purely mathematical need calculation for a proposed facility, but it will also focus upon whether a proposal will move the waste material further up the hierarchy. This policy will apply to all waste development. ii

5.10 As a direct result of the Waste Disposal Local Plan strategy which encouraged the reclamation of former mineral working by means of the deposit of waste, County Durham has, until recently, had an abundance of available landfill capacity. This has not only discouraged the development of more sustainable methods of waste management but also encouraged large quantities of waste to be imported into the County. Significant financial investment will be required in the County to move away from the current heavy reliance on landfill. The assessment of proposals for waste management facilities, based upon need and wider sustainability grounds, should give the waste industry the certainty it requires to make the necessary investment in facilities.

5.11 Transporting waste over a long distance does not encourage a waste producing area to take responsibility for the waste it produces. The provision of new facilities according to need is necessary to accord with the proximity principle, to encourage areas to take responsibility for dealing with their own waste, and to recognise that transporting waste itself has an environmental impact.

5.12 A Technical Paper has been prepared providing detailed information on waste, including assumptions on waste arisings (See Section 7 and the technical paper on waste information published in 2005). This forecasts that there will be a shortfall in the supply of waste management facilities in the County to meet the projected waste arisings up to 2016. In order to help the WPA to assess need, applicants are encouraged to include information on the forecast level and category of waste to be handled at their proposed facility.

Policy W 2

Proposals for new waste development will be required to demonstrate that there is an established need for the facility. They should show that they would make a contribution to the implementation of the County's sustainable waste strategy, having regard to the capacity of the existing provision and to whether the facility would move the management of waste material up the waste hierarchy, contribute to regional self-sufficiency and meet the proximity principle. Excessive provision which would result in the unnecessary importation of waste into County Durham will not be permitted.

Environmental Protection.

5.13 The Waste Local Plan has an important role to play in ensuring that the environment and quality of life of people will not be adversely affected to an unacceptable degree by waste development. Waste operations and associated vehicle movements can give rise to a variety of adverse impacts which can affect individuals, communities and particular social groups. The County Council attaches overriding importance to ensuring that the treatment and disposal of waste and any associated activities are carried out in accordance with the principles of sustainability. The impacts must be acceptable both in terms of the local and the wider environment and the amenity of local communities.  Protection and enhancement of the environment is one of the key aims of the Plan. Minimising environmental disturbance has advantages to residents and the wider economy in improving and maintaining the attractiveness of an area. All proposals for waste development will be assessed against the policies in Section 6, (Environmental Protection).

Policy W 3

Proposals for new waste development will be required to demonstrate that the natural and built environment and the living conditions of local communities will be protected and where possible enhanced.

Location of new waste management facilities.

5.14 PPG 10 advises that WLP’s should identify existing waste management sites with capacity for the future and, where practicable, new or extended sites sufficient to make adequate future provision of waste management facilities. Paragraph 33 states that "where new or replacement facilities are needed, preferred locations should be identified. Where specific locations are not identified, WPAs should indicate either 'areas of search' within which particular facilities might be acceptable on planning grounds, or identify comprehensive criteria against which applications for the development of waste management facilities could be considered. Identification of specific sites for development is the best way that the planning system can make provision for future waste management facilities.”

5.15 Since the publication of PPG 10, the Government has published a research report to assist waste planning authorities in preparing development plans.  Guidance on policies for Waste Management Planning (published May 2002), echoes PPG 10 in emphasising the value of identifying sites for waste development but also recognises that it is not always possible to do so. It advises that where it is not practicable to identify the full range of sites likely to be required, waste planning authorities could consider adopting a ‘hybrid strategy’ – a combination of criteria based policies and site specific allocations.  The main justification for a hybrid approach would be that the level of environmental information available to justify the identification of individual sites is not available.  However, the guidance suggests that if this is the case, then it should still be possible to identify preferred areas of search for waste facilities.

5.16 The WLP Key Issues Paper invited consultees to submit ideas and proposals for new waste management facilities. Unfortunately, very few proposals for specific sites were forthcoming. This approach can only be successful with the active and continuing participation of the waste industry. There is also considerable uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the EU Landfill Directive and its implications for landfill capacity, and the Environment Agency’s policy on landfill location. It is clear that the direction of waste management in the County must change, yet the precise nature, scale and location of new facilities needed to bring about this change are dependent on a range of policy and commercial decisions which are unpredictable at present. and in many cases are beyond the control and remit of the waste planning authority.  Against this background, the Waste Local Plan First Deposit Draft set out criteria against which new development proposals for a range of waste management facilities  could be assessed. Site specific proposals for the locations of new waste management facilities were not introduced at that stage of the Plan.

5.17 In response to the First Deposit Draft Waste Local Plan, various sites for both landfill and non-landfill facilities were proposed by industry.  The Environment Agency objected to all of the landfill sites that were proposed, due to a lack of information accompanying the submissions.  In addition, with one exception, it was not possible for the County Council to consider any of the non landfill proposals due to the absence of any supporting information to justify the submissions.  In these circumstances therefore, the Plan has adopted a hybrid approach, with criteria based policies and areas of constraint identified iii together with one site specific allocation for waste facilities at Thrislington Quarry (see Chapter 15).

5.18 PPG 10 (Annex A) advises that waste management facilities should be located where they are compatible with neighbouring land uses, and where they will have the least impact on the local population and the environment. PPG 10 identifies a number of possibilities where waste development could be located, e.g. within or adjacent to:

  • industrial areas;
  • degraded, contaminated, or derelict land;
  • working or worked out quarries;
  • existing landfill sites;
  • existing or redundant buildings;
  • sites previously occupied by other types of waste management facilities; and
  • other suitable sites located close to railways or water transport wharves, or major junctions in the road network.

5.19 The Waste Local Plan provides guidance on general locations as well as possible suitable locations for each type of development. In accordance with the proximity principle and to minimise transport impacts, new facilities should be located close to the sources of waste. The County Durham Structure Plan gives priority to development within or well related to the County’s main towns, where it is likely that most waste is generated. Policy W4 sets out the principle criteria for the location of new waste management facilities. Proposals for new sewage treatment works or extensions to existing works will be determined against Policy W 52.

Policy W 4

Proposals for new waste management facilities will be determined having regard to the following criteria:

  1. the environment and local amenity is adequately protected;
  2. the location minimises the environmental impacts of transporting waste;
  3. opportunities to integrate waste management facilities with other facilities or developments which will benefit from the recovery of materials or energy have been identified and taken advantage of;
  4. opportunities have been identified to extend or develop existing waste management facilities or develop new facilities alongside existing facilities where this would bring environmental benefits;
  5. opportunities have been identified to develop new facilities where they would bring environmental benefits such as on appropriately located previously used or derelict land or former mineral workings; and
  6. the safe and free flow of traffic on the highway networks affected by the facility shall be safeguarded.

Safeguarding Waste Sites.

5.20 Current sites for the treatment and disposal of waste are part of the existing infrastructure that is delivering essential waste management services to County Durham. Depending on individual circumstances, such sites may have the potential to increase their capacity, or to diversify to provide additional waste services or facilities. As a relatively ‘low value’ land use, these sites are vulnerable to redevelopment for other permanent land uses. Therefore existing waste sites, in addition to sites which may be developed during the plan period, should be safeguarded.

5.21 Local planning authorities in the County will be required to consult the County Council on planning applications adjacent to existing waste management facilities, within 250 metres of a landfill site and on applications on or adjacent to proposed facilities. It is important that sensitive land uses are not located close to existing or proposed waste facilities in order to reduce the potential risk of problems relating to amenity in the future.

Policy W 5

Existing sites in use for waste development (including sewage and water treatment sites) and proposed major sites for waste development should be safeguarded and protected from development which would prejudice their use for waste management. The County Council will oppose proposals for development within or in proximity to these sites where the proposed development would prevent or prejudice the use of the site for waste development.

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