The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) works in partnership with East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) on minerals and waste planning policy matters for the part of the National Park that falls within East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
The Adopted Minerals and Waste Plan
The Authorities have prepared and adopted:
The adopted plans form the Waste and Minerals Local Plan (WMLP).
The WMLP is used by the Authorities in the determination of planning applications for minerals extraction, waste management activities, and the safeguarding of minerals and waste infrastructure, in the part of the National Park that falls within East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
The Waste and Minerals Revised Policies Document
The Authorities have undertaken a partial review of the WMLP in the form of a “Revised Policies Document”. The review focuses on:
- The provision of aggregates; and
- The safeguarding of mineral resources and infrastructure; and
- Improvements to the effectiveness of certain policies within the WMLP.
The Authorities held public consultations on the Revised Policies Document in 2020 and 2021, before then submitting the Document to the Secretary of State on 13 May 2022 so that it could be subject to an independent Examination in Public.
The Examination took place in Autumn 2022 and was carried out by two Examining Inspectors from the Planning Inspectorate. The Inspectors raised no concerns over the soundness of the majority of the Document and no concerns around legal compliance were raised. However, and as tends to be the case with local plans, the Inspectors proposed main modifications to certain policies and explanatory text to ensure that the Document could be found “sound” and subsequently adopted by the Authorities. The public consultation on the proposed main modifications was carried out between 27 October and 22 December 2023.
The Inspectors have reviewed the representations received and issued their final report in April 2024. The Inspectors’ report, along with its appendix containing the schedule of main modifications, and all other supporting documents and information, can be viewed on the East Sussex consultation portal.
East Sussex County Council and the South Downs National Park Authority adopted the Revised Policies Document on 09 July 2024. It is anticipated that Brighton & Hove City Council will consider the adoption of the Document in October 2024. If all three authorities adopt the Document, then a composite version of the Waste & Minerals Local Plan (WMLP) will be published. This will result in a single document containing all WMLP policies in one place rather than across three documents.