Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council are in the process of reviewing the joint Minerals and Waste Development Plan. The current Core Strategy Development Plan Document (DPD) was adopted in 2011 and the Site Specific Proposals DPD was adopted in 2012. These two plans are being reviewed and a single joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) covering the two authority areas is being produced to replace them.

Submission Plan

The councils have consulted on a Preliminary Draft Local Plan (May 2018); a Further Draft Local Plan (March 2019) and, more recently, a Proposed Submission Local Plan (November 2019). Views were sought on a range of draft policies, and on the approach the plan should take in guiding mineral and waste management development over the period to 2036. Following these consultations, the councils took all comments into consideration, and have now submitted the plan for independent examination by an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State.

The plan which has been submitted (which, as required by law, is the same document as the Proposed Submission Plan) includes a suite of proposed policies to guide the determination of planning applications, and which cover detailed matters such as biodiversity, restoration, traffic and highways, and safeguarding.

The plan also includes allocations for mineral development, largely carried forward from currently adopted mineral sites. No allocations are being proposed for waste management development over the plan period as the plan area has, on the whole, sufficient capacity to manage the forecast waste arising.

Information on the proposed mineral allocations can be found in Policy 2 of the submitted plan and on the Policies Map; in the accompanying Site Assessments; and in the supporting paper Level of Provision and a Spatial Strategy for Minerals (November 2019).

All proposed designations and allocations can be found on the Interactive Policies Map.

The submitted plan is accompanied by supporting documents including a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Report. This is a mandatory document which incorporates the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations (2004). It sets out what the councils think the main sustainability issues are, and puts forward a framework, including reasonable alternatives and sustainability objectives, by which the draft plan is assessed.

The submitted plan and the supporting documents which the councils have also submitted to the Secretary of State are largely those which were published for the Proposed Submission consultation, and are available to view below. A separate examination webpage has been published containing all of the information relating to the forthcoming examination. The examination page will be updated periodically and can be found on the Peterborough City Council website.

The Councils have now received the Inspectors Report on the Soundness of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Minerals and Waste Local Plan. The Report is available to view in the Examination Library below, reference E013. Once the Councils have considered the contents of the Report, they will take it to their respective committees for consideration.