Inspector approves County’s Minerals & Waste Strategy
28th June 2017
The Minerals and Waste Strategy for Oxfordshire for the next 15 years has been adopted, despite CPRE concerns
The County’s Minerals and Waste Strategy, which governs how Oxfordshire’s minerals and waste needs will be met up to 2031, has finally received Government support, after a long public debate.
The Inspector has accepted what CPRE and other local campaign groups consistently argued were over-inflated targets for sand and gravel extraction, despite the fact that the calculations for these did not concur with NPPF guidelines.
CPRE Oxfordshire and local campaign groups consistently argued that the proposed figures for sharp sand and gravel extraction were vastly exaggerated.
See: CPRE’s response to the consultation on the draft Plan.
However, despite the draft Plan receiving 636 representations on the document from 157 organisations and individuals, the Council chose not to change it at all prior to submission to the Secretary of State.
What next?
The Core Strategy will go forward for adoption by the County Council in September. Work will now begin on preparing the Site Allocations Document, which will idenfity sites which are considered suitable for future minerals and waste development.
CPRE Oxfordshire, 28 June