REGIONAL ASSEMBLY SETS GREEN BELT WASTE CHALLENGE

THE WASTE CRISIS IS THE SOUTH EAST IS NOW SO PRESSING THAT WE MAY NEED TO SET ASIDE GREEN BELT POLICIES. This is one of the key messages of the Regional Waste Management Strategy which was launched in Oxford earlier this week.

The Strategy - entitled 'No Time to Waste' - proposes a radical change in the way waste is managed in the South East. Currently, the South East is managing over 29 million tonnes of waste, of which around four million tonnes is being imported into region, mainly from London. Even with efforts to reduce the present rate of increase, it is estimated that this figure will grow by over 20% in the next 20 years so that, by 2025, the region will be managing nearly 35 million tonnes of waste per year.

Details of the Strategy, which proposes a set of policies linked to tough waste minimisation, recycling, recovery and self-sufficiency targets, were unveiled at a consultation launch in Oxford earlier this week.

Key issues which the Strategy covers include:

• The South East needs to reduce what it produces.
• It also needs to recycle more - the Strategy puts forward specific targets to encourage recycling and composting.
• Other forms of waste recovery, including generating energy from waste, must also play a role.
• The region will still need to landfill waste but measures, such as increasing the landfill tax, will need to be put in place to curb its use.
• The region needs to be self-sufficient. Waste authorities should plan for self-sufficiency but with a continual but reducing provision for London's waste.
• The South East needs a lot of new treatment facilities, often relatively small, to deal with the increasing amounts of waste. In view of this need, it is possible that some facilities will be built on green belt land so as to ensure that new sites are built close to where people live and thus helping overall sustainability.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Assembly's Regional Planning Committee said: "The waste crisis in the South East means that we will need a lot of fairly small waste facilities, for example recycling and composting plants, in the region and we will need them soon. They need to be located close to the sources of waste. However, it can be difficult to find enough of the right sites in some of our more compact urban areas. Therefore, we believe that, in some areas, normal green belt constraints should not apply and we should consider locating appropriate waste facilities in green belt areas."

Consultation

The Regional Waste Management Strategy is a consultation document. Copies of it and its accompanying synopsis are available in the Strategies and Publications section of this website and at public libraries throughout the region. The Strategy can be bought from the Assembly for £15 (inc. VAT) and copies of its synopsis are available from the Assembly free of charge.

Feedback on the Strategy should be submitted to the Assembly Secretariat at: South East England Regional Assembly, Berkeley House, Cross Lanes, Guildford, GU1 1UN by 23 June 2003. Following this, the draft will be reconsidered in light of the consultation feedback and will be presented to Government in late 2003.

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007