20-year forward plan for minerals and waste agreed

A blueprint for the future of mineral prospecting and waste management in Buckinghamshire will go to public consultation before being sent to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, it has been agreed.

Officers have made changes to the original plan using strong feedback from a county-wide community and stakeholder consultation, and an online survey, in August and September.

A key change has been the removal of an existing industrial site at Ashridge Road, Chesham, and a proposed Milton Keynes fringe site from the 27 potential locations for waste management operations.

In the light of the deletions, officers have recalculated how much waste the county is likely to generate in the life of the plan, and reassessed the potential capacity of the remaining preferred waste management locations in the plan.

Bill Chapple, cabinet member for planning and environment, said: “This plan has to balance the needs of our amenities and our natural and historic environment, with the demands for future mineral extraction, and the need to manage Buckinghamshire's waste.

"In other words, we've had to ensure there's a steady and adequate supply of aggregates and forecast our future waste management needs, taking account of growth set out in the district local plans, and we're as sure as we can be that we've given our very best estimates.”