Waste Core Strategy: Tests of Soundness (draft for comment/improvement)

A Local Planning Authority’s Waste Core Strategy is one of several Development Plan Documents (DPDs) that forms a Local Development Framework (LDF). Like all DPDs, a Council’s Waste Core Strategy must be assessed by a Planning Inspector who will determine whether or not it has been prepared in accordance with legislative requirements. The Planning Inspector, through what is know as an “examination in public” (a type of public inquiry) will establish whether the Waste Core Strategy is “sound”.

Planning Policy Statement 12 (PPS12) – Creating strong safe and prosperous communities through Local Spatial Planning provides that in determining soundness, the Inspector will consider whether the DPD is justified, whether it is effective and whether it is consistent with national policy. “Soundness” is explained in PPS12 in paragraphs 4.36 – 4.47, 4.51 and 5.52.

PPS12 (para 4.20) also explains how the production of core strategies should follow the Government’s principles for community engagement in planning.

Involvement should be:

• appropriate to the level of planning;
• from the outset – leading to a sense of ownership of local policy decisions;
• continuous – part of ongoing programme, not a one-off event, with clearly articulated opportunities for continuing involvement;
• transparent and accessible – using methods appropriate to the communities concerned; and
• planned – as an integral part of the process for making plans.

The Planning Inspectorate have produced a guide that provides an indication of the Inspector’s main considerations.

The guide is one of several publications that are worth reading to gain a better understanding of how to frame any concerns during the consultation phases of the process.

Remember: even if you feel that your Council is not listening to your concerns, the Planning Inspector will consider your comments, as long as you have voiced your concerns in the proper manner and at the appropriate time.

Councils must produce a sustainability appraisal report for all Development Plan Documents (DPDs) (including their Waste Core Strategy). The “sustainability appraisal” required by S19(5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 should be an appraisal of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the plan.

Councils must demonstrate how they have complied with Regulation 25 on participation in production of the DPD by showing:

• Who was invited to make representations
• How they were invited
• Summary of the main issues raised
• How these representations were taken into account

To be sound a core strategy should be:
(i) Justified
(ii) Effective
(iii) Consistent with national policy

Justified
PPS12 provides that to be ‘justified’ a DPD needs to be:

• founded on a robust and credible evidence base involving:
  • evidence of participation of the local community and others having a stake in the area
  • research/fact finding – the choices made in the plan are backed up by facts

• the most appropriate strategy when considered against reasonable alternatives

The examining Inspector will expect convincing answers to these key questions. Clearly, depending on the nature of the DPD being examined, there may also be other specialist questions that relate to the content of the document.

Key Questions:

Participation

• Has the consultation process allowed for effective engagement of all interested parties?

Research/fact finding

• Is the content of the DPD justified by the evidence?
• What is the source of the evidence?
• How up to date is it and how convincing is it?
• What assumptions had to be made in preparing the DPD?
• Are the assumptions reasonable and justified?

Alternatives

• Can it be shown that the LPA’s chosen approach is the most appropriate given the reasonable alternatives?
• Have the reasonable alternatives been considered and is there a clear audit trail showing how and why the preferred strategy/approach was arrived at?
• Where a balance had to be struck in taking decisions between competing alternatives, is it clear how and why these decisions were taken?
• Does the sustainability appraisal show how the different options perform and is it clear that sustainability considerations informed the content of the DPD from the start?
• Does the DPD adequately expand upon regional guidance rather than simply duplicate it? Does the strategy take forward the regional context reflecting the local issues and objectives?

Effective

PPS12 states that core strategies should be effective; this means:

• Deliverable – embracing:
  • Sound infrastructure delivery planning
  • Having no regulatory or national planning barriers to delivery
  • Delivery partners who are signed up to it
  • Coherence with the strategies of neighbouring authorities
• Flexible
• Able to be monitored

Key Questions

Deliverable

• Has the LPA clearly identified what the issues are that the DPD is seeking to address?
• Have priorities been set so that it is clear what the DPD is seeking to achieve?
• Are there any cross-boundary issues that should be addressed and, if so, have they been adequately addressed?
• Does the DPD contain clear objectives?
• Are the objectives specific to the place; as opposed to being general and applicable to anywhere?
• Is there a direct relationship between the identified issues and the objectives?
• Is it clear how the policies will meet the objectives?
• Are there any obvious gaps in the policies, having regard to the objectives of the DPD?
• Are there realistic timescales related to the objectives?
• Are the policies internally consistent?
• Does the DPD contain material that is already in another DPD, should logically be in a different DPD or not be in a DPD at all?
• Does the DPD explain how its key policy objectives will be achieved?
• If there are development management policies, are they supportive of the strategy and objectives?
• Have the infrastructure implications of the strategy/policies clearly been identified?
• Are the delivery mechanisms and timescales for implementation of the policies clearly identified?
• Is it clear who is going to deliver the required infrastructure and does the timing of the provision complement the timescale of the strategy/policies?
• Is it clear who is intended to implement each part of the strategy/DPD?
• Where the actions required are outside the direct control of the LPA, is there evidence that there is the necessary commitment from the relevant organisation to the implementation of the policies?
• Does the DPD reflect the concept of spatial planning?
• Does it go beyond traditional land use planning by bringing together and integrating policies for development and the use of land with other policies and programmes from a variety of agencies/organisations that influence the nature of places and how they function?
• Does the DPD take into account matters which may be imposed by circumstance, notwithstanding the LPA’s views about the matter?

Flexible

• Is the DPD flexible enough to respond to a variety of, or unexpected changes in, circumstances?
• Is the DPD sufficiently flexible to deal with any changes to, for example, housing figures from an emerging RSS?
• Does the DPD include the remedial actions that will be taken if the strategies/policies are failing?

Monitoring

• Does the DPD contain targets and milestones which relate to the delivery of the policies, including housing trajectories where the DPD contains housing allocations?
• Is it clear how these are to be measured and are these linked to the production of the Annual Monitoring Report?
• Are suitable targets and indicators present (by when, how and by whom)?
• Is it clear how the significant effects identified in the Sustainability Appraisal Report will be taken forward in the ongoing monitoring of the implementation of the plan, through the Annual Monitoring Report?

National Policy

The DPD should be consistent with national policy. Where there is a departure, LPAs must provide clear and convincing reasoning to justify their approach.

Key Questions

• Does the DPD contain any policies or proposals which are not consistent with national policy, and if so is there local justification?
• Does the DPD contain policies that do not add anything to existing national guidance?
• If so, why have these been included?

Links

Friends of the Earth’s Waste Development Framework Guide aims to inform campaigners on how best to engage with the waste planning framework structure. It also provides a summary of Friends of the Earth”s waste local planning policy.

Links to the Planning Inspectorate’s webpages about Assessing The Soundness Of Development Plan Documents And Statements Of Community Involvement:

http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/appeals/local_dev/ldf_testing_soundness_feb10.pdf

http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/appeals/local_dev/Soundness_of_DPD.htm

http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/appeals/local_dev/state_community_inv.pdf

View the 2004 Act: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/pdf/ukpga_20040005_en.pdf

View the amending Planning Act 2008: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/pdf/ukpga_20080029_en.pdf

View the 2004 Regulations: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/uksi_20042204_en.pdf

View the amending 2008 Regulations: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/pdf/uksi_20081371_en.pdf

View the amending 2009 Regulations: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/pdf/uksi_20090401_en.pdf

View PPS12: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/pps12lsp.pdf

View the online PAS Plan Making Manual: http://www.pas.gov.uk/pas/core/page.do?pageId=51391

View the Examining Development Plan Documents Procedure Guidance: http://www.pas.gov.uk/pas/core/page.do?pageId=96420

Answers from the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to 60 Frequently Asked Questions about the Examination of Development Plan Documents can be found at: http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/appeals/local_dev/FAQs-general%202.pdf

For example:

Question 3. What does ‘sound’ mean?
PINS’ answer: There is no definition for ‘sound’ in the legislation but it should be considered in this context within its ordinary meaning of ‘showing good judgement’ and ‘able to be trusted’ and within the context of fulfilling the expectations of legislation.

Question 7. What form will examinations take?
Subject to the right to be heard, the Inspector will determine the appropriate method for examination. Examinations may be conducted using written representations, round table discussions, informal hearings or formal hearings (which may involve cross-examination). PPS12 stresses the use of written representation as the preferred method, especially for SCIs (and it must be stressed that these carry the same weight as appearing at the Examination to give oral representations). An explanation of the types of procedure for the Examination is provided in paragraph D15, PPS12.

Questions 25. Do representations seeking a change to a DPD have to be related to the tests of soundness?
No. But it will assist the Inspector in the examination process if representations seeking changes to the DPD focus on the tests of soundness. Ideally representations should seek to demonstrate clearly why the DPD is unsound and what changes are considered necessary to make it sound. Representations must relate to the DPD itself.

Questions 27. What if I know there are others that share the same concerns as me?
Where there are groups who share a common view on how they wish to see a DPD changed, it would be very helpful for that group to send a single representation which represents the view, rather than for a large number of individuals to send in separate representations which repeat the same points (repeating the same points will not add weight to the case being made). Groups should indicate how many people they represent and how the representation has been authorised.

Question 56. What if an adopted Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) has not been complied with in preparing the DPD?
Failure to comply with an adopted SCI may result in a finding of unsoundness.