Issue - meetings

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/040

Cabinet Member: Peter Stevens      Lead Officer: Mark Walsh

RESOLVED: That

(1)     the contents of this report and the summarised feedback from pre-application consultation be noted;

(2)     further pre-application consultation to include the site selection be approved; and

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

(3)     funding of £180,000, as detailed in Section 4 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/040, be approved (£98,000 FHDC and £82,000 SEBC).  To be funded from each authority’s Strategic Priorities and Medium Term Financial Strategy reserve.  

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/040 (previously circulated), which sought approval for further consultation to be undertaken to include site selection before any planning application was made to potentially locate the West Suffolk Operational Hub at the currently preferred site of Hollow Road Farm, Bury St Edmunds.  The Cabinet was also asked to recommend to full Council, approval of additional funding to enable the project to progress.

Councillor Peter Stevens, Portfolio Holder for Operations, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet. He explained that although not a statutory requirement, pre-planning application consultation started on 6 March 2015 and due to the large response received, the original one month consultation period was extended to 20 April 2015.    The report summarised that 640 responses had been received during the period, 84% of which were objections, which included a paper petition containing 555 signatures and an online petition of 283 signatures as at 30 April 2015 (see minute 81 above.) Further detail on the responses received during the pre-application consultation period were contained in Appendix A.

Having received and analysed the responses received, the proposals were being further developed to take into account the issues that had been raised.  It was also clear from the responses received that further information was required on the justification for a single site Operational Hub comprising a waste transfer station, combined depot and Household Waste and Recycling Centre, and also the process adopted for reviewing potential sites which had concluded that the Hollow Road Farm site was the preferred option.  Consideration was therefore given to recommend that further consultation should be undertaken to include the site selection process, ahead of the submission of any planning application.

Councillor Stevens added that in order to progress the project and develop a full business case in autumn 2015, further funding from the West Suffolk councils of £180,000 would be required.  This was to be divided with £98,000 from Forest Heath District Council and £82,000 from St Edmundsbury Borough Council, as detailed further in the report.

Councillors Beccy Hopfensperger and Sarah Broughton, Ward Members for Fornham and Great Barton Wards respectively, both addressed the Cabinet on the proposals.  Whilst both Members recognised the need for a single site for the Operational Hub, they both expressed their serious concerns for locating the development at Hollow Road Farm and provided detailed reasons why they considered the site was unsuitable.

The Cabinet acknowledged the strength of feeling against the preferred location that had emerged from the pre-application consultation and supported the recommendation as outlined above to carry out further consultation, including the process for site selection.  The optimum solution for the treatment of waste in West Suffolk was the ultimate objective (as detailed further in minutes 80 and 81 above), therefore it was important that the issues raised were properly addressed and mitigated.

Members also supported recommending to Council the allocation of additional funding, as set out in the recommendation below.

RESOLVED: That

(1)     the contents of this report and the summarised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82