This Planning Systems Guidance seeks to encourage a constructive approach to waste planning, identifying actions that will facilitate favourable determinations of planning applications and speed the delivery of waste infrastructure. Particularly it aims to help ensure that regional spatial strategies (RSS) and local development plans conform to national planning guidance on waste so that waste infrastructure projects needed to deliver Defra's Waste Strategy for England 2007 receive planning approval, while promoting best practice in the way local authorities consult stakeholders on their waste strategies.
A better understanding amongst infrastructure promoters of the planning system will deliver significant benefits. This might be through: an appreciation of what is, and what is not, appropriate development; a positive 'strategy' for contributing, through engagement opportunities, to the development plan; or ensuring the planning system's needs with regard to applications are comprehensively addressed.
As a result of being informed by the guidance, planning applications will be more likely to be consistent with the development plan, and a 'planning-positive' application will increase the likelihood of favourable determination at the first attempt and reduce the risk of delays that might have been avoided.
The guidance is formed of three principal parts. These are as follows:
• A Planning Process Guide;
• Case Studies; and
• An Infrastructure Planning Roadmap.
The approach to community engagement taken by those seeking to secure permissions for waste infrastructure projects is critical to all stages of both the planning process and preparation of the municipal waste management strategies prepared by local authorities. The changes to the planning system (detailed in Touch Point 1 and the Infrastructure Planning Roadmap) have introduced greater emphasis on community engagement meaning a more active involvement of communities, stakeholders and commercial interests at an early stage of both plan-making and pre-application discussions.
The aim of community engagement in planning is to seek the views of local people. It provides opportunities to explain the planning process and how local government works, in addition to explaining the community's needs and those of the business sector. Community engagement provides the opportunity for the community's voice to be heard, and it is anticipated that community involvement should lead to outcomes which better reflect the views and aspirations of the wider community. Community involvement, at its most effective, should aim to improve the quality and efficiency of decisions by ensuring all aspects of the planning process and planning applications are understood. Every planning authority is required to prepare a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which sets out its main principles for community involvement (Refer to the Infrastructure Planning Roadmap for details of the SCI). The SCI will actively encourage applicants to undertake early community involvement to explain their proposals to the local community. Touch Point 4 of this guidance provides details and signposts to waste disposal authorities on how best to conduct community engagement.
At relevant points this guidance refers to the requirements of pollution control permitting, a separate but complementary approval that most waste projects will require. It is not possible to cover the requirements of permitting in detail in this guidance, however developers are advised to discuss their proposals with the Environment Agency at a suitably early stage and consider parallel submission of planning and pollution control permit applications. More information on environmental regulations can be found on the Netregs website: www.netregs.gov.uk.