Other policy documents
Statement of community involvement
The statement of community involvement (SCI) explains our policy for involving the community in preparing the Minerals and Waste Local Plan and planning applications. The SCI aims to ensure that the community are involved at any early stage and can play a part in shaping the policies as they are developed.
A new Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) was adopted by Cabinet on 26 April 2022. This has been updated to reflect recent developments in the Development Plan, the wider council, and society more generally.
Authority monitoring reports
The county council is required to produce an Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) which contains information on the implementation of the Minerals and Waste Development Scheme and the extent to which policies in the Leicestershire Minerals and Waste Local Plan are being achieved.
Alongside this the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires Mineral Planning Authorities to produce and annual Local Aggregate Assessment (LAA).
Minerals and Waste Development Scheme
A new Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (MWDS) was adopted by Cabinet on 26 April 2022. This has been updated to provide a timetable for the review of the Leicestershire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (LMWLP) adopted in 2019.
Minerals and Waste Local Plan update
The Leicestershire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (LMWLP) was adopted in September 2019. Plans need to be up to date to be effective. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states policies in local plans should be reviewed to assess whether they need updating at least once every 5 years and should then be updated as necessary. As the LMWLP was adopted in September 2019, this means that Leicestershire County Council is required to undertake a review by September 2024.
A review was carried out during 2022 and its results reported to Cabinet on 17 November 2022. An early Review was carried out for a variety of reasons. These include Government changes including to environmental legislation; the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB); and a variety of local factors such as the delivery of the Newhurst EfW and low sand and gravel reserves.
Whilst the Newhurst facility is currently under construction, it has not been delivered within the expected timescales. The current LMWLP commits to a review of the plan where the 2020/21 deadline is not met.
The LMWLP was examined against the NPPF 2012. The NPPF has been updated in July 2018, February 2019 and July 2021. A Government consultation on further changes to the NPPF is currently underway.
The Review assessed whether the LMWLP policies, vision and objectives remain effective and up to date. It concludes that the LMWLP is performing well, including at appeal, and its implementation is delivering sustainable minerals and waste development in Leicestershire as intended.