Somerset County Council is proposing important changes to its work on minerals and waste planning, and will be consulting key partners on a revised version of the Minerals and Waste Development Scheme (MWDS) over the next few weeks.
The MWDS is a public statement of Somerset County Council's programme for producing documents that make up the Minerals and Waste Development Framework (MWDF), which contains policies that guide planning decisions for the minerals and waste industries. The MWDF will eventually replace existing Minerals and Waste Local Plans.
The revised version of the MWDS outlines a new timetable for producing policy documents. It was considered by Somerset County Council's Environment Scrutiny Sub-Committee on Tuesday 16 January, prior to consulting key stakeholders. The revised version will then be put forward for consideration by the County Council's Executive Board on 7 March 2007.
Martin Buckle, Minerals and Waste Planning Manager, said: "The new document is effectively a revised programme for preparing the new plans. A key role of the document is to alert people with an interest in the minerals and waste industries, about the anticipated dates for wider consultation on the planning documents themselves."
Cllr Hazel Prior-Sankey, Somerset County Council's Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning, Transport and Waste, said: "This is an important project for Somerset County Council as it will help us to meet our corporate priorities of improving general well-being, promoting investment in the economy and safe-guarding the environment. The first round of wider consultation on the plans themselves is programmed for September, when will be seeking comments on the first Waste Issues and Options Document."