Date: 02 April 2007 19:46

PLANNERS ASK FOR MORE TIME TO LISTEN TO PUBLIC

Planning chiefs are to ask Government for more time to look at the hundreds of views made by the public on major proposals to deal with the County's waste and mineral extraction. Around 1,400 responses were made to a massive public consultation on the complex issue of where to build new waste and recycling facilities as well as quarries and mineral extraction measures.

Cambridgeshire County Council planners were set to submit plans to the Secretary of State in September this year but will be asking Cabinet approval to extend this and hold an extra public consultation.

The additional time will allow planners to examine suggestions of new sites for Household Waste Recycling Centres and Water Treatment works in and around Cambridge. 

With over 47,000 new homes planned to be built in and around Cambridgeshire it is vital that the facilities needed to cope with the rubbish generated and their construction are properly planned.

In particular officers will be working on:
* demonstrating whether the proposed relocation of the Waste Water Treatment Works from near Milton to Honey Hill in Fen Ditton is technically and financially deliverable
* identifying the pros and cons of moving the Waste Water Treatment Works by considering the implications of the 'do nothing' option
* providing an assessment of the additional sites suggested for location of HWRCs, the relocation of the Waste Water Treatment Works and mineral extraction in the county.

Cambridgeshire County Council, together with Peterborough City Council, are reviewing the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Minerals and Waste Plan. The Government has invited all authorities to review the timetables for preparing their plans.

Planners were given the go-ahead at today's, Friday's Cabinet Meeting to ask Government for the extra time. If this is granted then a further public consultation will be held in September or October next year with a view to submit it to the Secretary of State in the Autumn of 2009.

The proposals have already been through two informal public consultations, and more recently an extended formal consultation on preferred options. The extra public consultation planned for 2008 would include the findings from the investigations into the public's suggestions.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Services, said: "It is vital that we plan these facilities properly but also take fully into account the suggestions and concerns of the local communities. I have always been clear that this is something that should not be rushed through and that we need to think carefully about. The extra time would allow us to look at all the possibilities put forward in much more detail, which is something many respondents have asked for. That is why I hope Cabinet and the Government will back these proposals. What we decide and plan for now will impact upon our children's future. We must consider the best possible options for reducing landfill, increasing recycling and protecting the environment wherever we can from further climate change."

John Reynolds