Planning framework ‘must give waste its rightful place’ urges ESA

The Government's proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) fails to recognise the important role of waste management in delivering sustainable development, according to a leading trade body.


The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has expressed concern over the “cursory mention” of waste management in the draft NPPF, at a time when six out of ten local authorities have incomplete waste plans.

ESA’s director of policy, Matthew Farrow, said: “The waste management industry wants to invest the £10-£20bn needed to upgrade Britain’s waste infrastructure, but to do so needs a coherent planning framework.

“The NPPF’s focus on growth is welcome, but the document fails to set out the importance of waste management to delivering sustainable development. At a time when 58% of local authorities have still not put in place their waste plans, despite having a legal obligation to do so, this is a recipe for confusion.”

He added: “We recognise that the Government intends to revise PPS10 in the future. But the timescale for this is not clear, and with so many local authorities still struggling to put in place up-to-date waste management plans, the NPPF will be a crucial document. It must give waste management its rightful place.”

Alongside the NPPF response, the ESA published its own document on reforming the planning system, No time to waste, which calls for planning authorities to form strategic waste planning partnerships.

It also recommends that the Government should propose statutory time limits for the preparation and adoption of development plans, and that planning decisions should be excluded from the scope of local referenda proposed in the Localism Bill.

Maxine Perella

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