General Question – 21 February 2008

Back

Under Standing Order 14, Councillor Caroline Nichols asked the following question:

“Please would the Portfolio holder provide an update on the latest plans for the Charlton municipal waste site. In particular, how firm is Surrey County Council's plan for a food and green waste processing plant on this site? Will it require extra land, does it preclude an incinerator at Charlton, and how much extra traffic will it generate in the area?”

Councillor G.E. Forsbrey responded as follows:

“Councillor Nichols will probably be aware that, just before Christmas, Surrey County Council published the Inspectors’ Report on the Examination of the Surrey Waste Plan. In so far as Charlton Lane is concerned the Inspectors noted that, within the existing site boundary, the site could be developed without affecting the openness of the Green Belt any further. They considered the site offers great potential for combining waste management facilities and that further development could be justified on the grounds of very special circumstances. Around 2.5 hectares of the site could be used for composting of kitchen waste. They also concluded there was limited potential for a small scale energy from waste plant. The joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy also identifies Charlton Lane as a possible suitable location for in-vessel composting.

Surrey County Council is, I understand, still considering some specific issues arising from the Inspectors’ recommendations and a report is due to be taken to their Executive. This will recommend the approach the Council should take. There is currently no indication when the Plan will be adopted.

The County Council, (as the Waste Disposal Authority) is evaluating the potential for the use of Charlton Lane in the light of the Inspectors’ report. No firm decision has been taken and no detailed plans have been published by Surrey County Council for any food or green waste processing at the Charlton Lane site. Planning permission was, however, granted in 2006 for the redesign of the Community Recycling Facility and it is understood that work should start on 19 May 2008 with completion in early September 2008. Any new proposals for processing food or green waste by means of in-vessel composting at the site would be the subject of a detailed planning application. There would have to be extensive consultation before any decision would be taken.

The Inspectors did not consider that traffic generation was, of itself, a limiting factor in considering development of the site. They did consider that highway impacts should be examined during the detailed planning process.

In summary, I suspect Councillor Nichols is aware that Surrey County Council is currently evaluating the Inspectors’ report and no decision has been made by the County Council at this time.”