Dig it up and fill it in: Minerals and Waste

Surrey County Council is planning authority for minerals and waste, and it is disposal authority for waste too. Quite confusing! In the old days Surrey would have plans for these topics. The final stage in plan preparation was the deposit draft, which would be examined in public by an Inspector. The Inspector's recommendations would be considered by the Council, who would adopt the final plan to come into force.

Thanks to a generous government the language has changed. We now have frameworks. That's the approved jargon. It applies both to local development frameworks (which are to be drawn up now by district and borough councils and will replace the former county and local plans) and to the required minerals and waste frameworks, which are both for the county; there is consultation on issues papers before a framework is drafted.

For minerals the issue paper stage took place in the summer of 2003 while the comparable stage for waste was reached in November 2004 (with the consultation period, by web and otherwise, expiring on 28 February). For minerals there has been an added consultation stage, on the assessment of potential mineral zones (PMZs). This period ends at the end of February 2005 - comments can still be made.

For the future the timetable for both topics will be similar. There will be a statement of community involvement setting out how the frameworks will be handled. That'll probably come out in April. Then in the autumn there will, for each topic, be a statement of preferred options, on which the public will be given six weeks in which to express views. After that, the council will produce final drafts. These will each be submitted to the Secretary of State and then go to a formal examination by an Inspector, to whom representations can be made. His or her conclusions will be binding. The frameworks should come into force in early 2007. Until then the existing plans are the documents against which actual applications are considered (although no doubt reference can be made to framework papers going through the mill).

In brief, it's as confusing as ever but in different ways - those with concerns must buy rations for a long war.