News Release : 01 March 2004

Joint announcement from
The South East England Regional Assembly and The Government Office for the South East

SOUTH EAST MUST REDUCE ITS WASTE MOUNTAIN SAYS ASSEMBLY

THE SOUTH EAST ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSEMBLY IS CALLING FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT of waste and mineral resources in the region. Today the Regional Assembly submits its draft Regional Waste Management Strategy and Minerals Strategy to Government. It advises that more recycling is vital to prevent the South East’s growing waste mountain becoming unmanageable.

Both strategies are now open to public consultation and comments should be received by Monday 24 May 2004.

Regional Waste Management Strategy
The Strategy proposes a radical change in the way waste is managed in the South East. It sets tougher targets for recycling and proposes over 380 new local waste facilities such as plants to reprocess waste for energy or to create new products. Key issues in the Strategy are:

• By 2010 the proportion of household waste recycled needs to rise from the current 35% to 40%.
• Within six years 52% of household waste needs to be diverted from landfill and turned into energy. A mixture of treatments and facilities such as incineration will be needed.
• We must discourage landfilling of waste, for example by increasing the landfill tax.
• Local authorities should aim to deal with all the waste generated in their area and should plan to import less waste from London.

‘ No Time to Waste’ replaces the waste management policies set out in the Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9).

The Regional Assembly has prepared the Strategy in its capacity as the regional planning body for the South East and sought the views of stakeholders and the general public on a consultation draft in spring 2003.

Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the South East England Regional Assembly’s Regional Planning Committee: said: “Much has been said over the last ten years about the growing mountain of waste which the South East is producing but little has actually been done. It is time to act now and everyone has a role to play. Local authorities need to show leadership when making difficult waste management decisions such as the location of new facilities. There is a need to provide incentives which will encourage a change in how we dispose of our waste and how waste management companies treat it. And, most importantly, people throughout the region, the everyday producers of waste, need to think more about what they consume, what they throw away and how they do it. ”

Regional Minerals Strategy
This Strategy sets out policies to extract minerals such as chalk, clay, sand and gravel; raw materials which are important for both the manufacturing and construction industry. It replaces obsolete targets and policies published in 1994. Issues covered in the Strategy are:

• How to use minerals more efficiently in construction to prolong the region’s supply of raw materials.
• How to encourage greater re-use and recycling of materials as construction aggregates.
• New targets for the supply of construction aggregates, both for the region as a whole and for individual counties or unitary authorities. These will be taken into account in considering planning applications for quarrying and minerals extraction.

The approach in the Strategy mirrors the philosophy of the Assembly’s Regional Waste Management Strategy which advocates the importance of recycling and re-use of waste, including construction and demolition waste. The Strategy was subject to an extensive consultation programme in autumn 2003.

The Secretary of State is responsible for approving the policies in both strategies after a review by an independent panel. The Panel will be chaired by Corinne Swain and will hold a Public Examination at Reading in the week of 4 October 2004.

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Waste Strategy and Minerals Strategy are available on this website, or they can be downloaded from the GOSE website.
2. Recycling targets for household waste have been increased from 35 to 40 percent by 2010 with an increase from 45 to 50 percent by 2015. The Strategy also sets targets to reduce the growth in waste amounts and to adopt more sustainable construction techniques.
3. The preparation of a strategy involves three key consultation stages. The development of the Regional Waste Management Strategy was as follows:
• March 2003 – Publication of the Consultation Draft of Regional Waste Management Strategy by the Assembly.
• March 2004 – Publication and submission to Government of theProposed Alterations to Regional Planning Guidance, South East – Regional Waste Management Strategy.
• Autumn 2004 – Government, Secretary of State, will provide modifications to the Strategy following a Public Examination in October 2004.
4. Copies of the consultation document entitled ‘Proposed Alterations to Regional Planning Guidance, South East - Regional Waste Management Strategy’ and Regional Minerals Strategy can be obtained by contacting the South East England Regional Assembly, Berkeley House, Cross Lanes, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1UN. The document may also be accessed electronically from this website and from www.go-se.gov.uk - where an electronic response form is available.
5. Written comments using the response form provided should be sent to The Regional Planning Guidance Secretariat, c/o Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4GA. The form can also be downloaded from www.go-se.gov.uk
6. Corinne Swain OBE, MA (Cantab), M Phil, FRTPI is a member of the Panel of Chairs appointed by the Secretary of State to examine regional planning guidance and structure plans. She has nearly 30 years' experience as a planning practitioner. She was a Director and Head of Planning at Ove Arup, an international consultancy group, until mid 1999. She now combines part time consultancy with various public sector appointments. She has chaired four public examinations, the most recent being into Regional Planning Guidance for the West Midlands (2002). Her career started in local government and she worked for the then British Airports Authority.

Government Office for the South East

1. Formed in 1994, Government Offices bring together the activities and interests of different Government departments within a single organisation. This makes them uniquely well-placed to take a cross-departmental approach and to provide a coherent view of the operations and interactions of Government programmes.
2. There are nine Government Offices, each headed by a regional director. They deliver the English regional services for nine departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The South East England Regional Assembly

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