County Durham Waste Local Plan.

14 Monitoring and Review.

14.1 Local planning authorities are required to keep under review matters which may be expected to affect the development of their area or the planning of their area.  The policies and proposals in a development plan, such as this Waste Local Plan should be monitored, in order to assess its effectiveness.

14.2 Monitoring information will be collected and used to establish whether the strategy of the Plan is being implemented as intended.  It will allow the Council to identify where policies need to be strengthened, maintained, changed in some way, or in cases where a policy has served no purpose, removed from the Plan.  This can then lead to decision making on the need for and scope of a Plan review.  Although most of the policies will remain relevant throughout the Plan period, and even beyond, regular monitoring and review will ensure that its provisions remain up to date.  Where necessary, formal alterations may be adopted before the end of the Plan period.  Changes to waste management, the provision of waste management facilities and the amount of waste being managed will be monitored, in partnership with the Environment Agency.  If monitoring shows that the rates at which new waste management capacity is being created and/or the rate at which landfill space is being filled are substantially different from those sought or anticipated in the Plan, the quantities and provision for waste management facilities will be re-assessed.

14.3 A number of other matters may influence the effectiveness, validity and practicality of the Plan:

• The legislative context in which waste management is carried out may change.  Numerous European directives, UK legislation, government guidance and targets strongly influence waste planning.  A regional waste strategy is currently being prepared.  The implication for the Waste Local Plan of any such changes will be included in the monitoring report.
• The context in which the planning for waste takes place may change.  Public attitudes to the creation of waste and recycling, manufacturers’ approach to packaging, and new techniques for dealing with waste will be developed.  These sorts of changes may have a significant impact on the relevance and practicality of the present Plan, and will be included as information becomes available.
• The details of assumptions and current baseline data about waste, waste facilities, and other waste operations need to be collected regularly, in liaison with the Environment Agency, waste operators and other agents.  Elsewhere in this Plan, problems about the creation of an accurate baseline information system have been highlighted, and assumptions outlined where accurate data is not available. Monitoring requires these assumptions and questionable information to be reviewed regularly.

14.4 Various types of monitoring will be undertaken:

• General contextual information will be collected to reflect aspects of environmental, economic and social change, recognising that planning is only one of the factors bringing about change.
• Measuring the applications of the Plan to development control decisions, by monitoring the use of policies in assessing waste development proposals.  This can point to the need to modify the wording of policies to make them work better.  It can also identify policies which appear to be little used, and may be combined with others or omitted in a subsequent review.
• A series of targets and indicators have been developed focusing on the land use aspects of the plan:
  a) A key objective is “to protect and enhance the natural and built environment, including sites of ecological and landscape value and character, vulnerable aquifers and the Green Belt”.
  The target is to investigate the potential impact of all proposals for waste related development on the above.
  The indicators will be the number of waste proposals refused in order to achieve this objective, or permitted with conditions which allow the development to meet this objective.
  Indicators will include the number of applications refused on, or allowed with conditions relating to:
  landscape grounds connected with landscape value designations;
  - ecological grounds connected with nature conservation designations, protected species and biodiversity;
  - the openness of the Green Belt;
  - protection of the built environment; and
  - the quality of surface or ground water resources.
  b) A second key objective is “to protect local amenity by minimising the adverse impact of waste management operations on local communities and residential areas for example in promoting and agreeing sensitive working practices and effective reclamation”.
  The target is to investigate the potential impact on local communities and residential areas of all proposals for waste related development.
  The indicators will be the number of waste related planning applications refused in order to reach this objective, or the number where conditions ensure sensitive working practices and effective reclamation in order to achieve this objective.
  Indicators will include the number of applications refused on, or allowed with conditions relating to:
  - impact of transport and traffic movement;
  - impact on residential visual amenity;
  - impact of odour, noise, litter and vermin and birds;
  - agreed schemes of working; and
  - appropriate restoration and after care.
  c) A third key objective is to promote the efficient use of resources.  The Local Plan, as a land use plan can only assist in this process by setting a suitable framework for facilities to be provided by the waste industry.
  The target is to assess the provision of waste management facilities to achieve increased re-use of non-renewable resources.
  The indicators will be the number, type and capacity of facilities for recycling, composting and energy recovery which have been granted planning permission each year. 

Monitoring Information.

14.5 The implementation of planning conditions and legal agreements will be monitored to ensure the implementation of the Plan is securing appropriate avoidance, mitigation and compensation of potentially detrimental impacts.  Annual monitoring reports for each part of the Development Plan are seen as a useful way of publishing results of plan monitoring on a regular basis and it is intended that this Plan will be monitored in this way. Much of the basic information required to monitor progress will come from the Environment Agency, applicants and the waste industry.  (A checklist of information required from applicants is included in Section 13.)  The Annual Monitoring Report will contain:

1. An assessment of the significance of changes to the legislative framework of waste management, and the implications for the Waste Local Plan.
2. An assessment of regional waste strategy developments, including the implication of cross boundary proposals.
3. Details of contractual changes in the local waste industry, which impact on the policies of the Waste Local Plan.
4. Changes in waste management facilities in the County and adjacent areas, including capacity and permitted waste types (including new or closed facilities).
5. A revision of the projected waste management requirement and waste disposal capacity available.
6. Details of amount & type of materials re-used, recycled, composted, recovered and disposed of, in the County, by locations and activity.
7. Assessment of policies used in deciding waste development applications, and comment on their helpfulness.
8. An indication of changes in forecasted waste arisings, and recycling activity, reflecting the habits of the consumer.
9. Information on cross boundary movement of wastes.
10. Figures, where available, for transporting waste, including distance travelled.

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