‘West Berks can’t have our minerals’

A REQUEST by West Berkshire Council to dump extra landfill waste in Oxfordshire has been politely declined.

And plans for West Berkshire to take more minerals like sand for building projects from Oxfordshire have also been turned down by the county council.

A report to the council by Rachel Wileman, its assistant director strategic infrastructure and planning, raised concerns that if West Berkshire Council’s draft plans for the future of where it dumps rubbish and gets its building materials is left unchanged then the district could become ‘reliant’ on Oxfordshire.

And a letter from Ms Wileman addressed to staff at West Berkshire laid out its objections to the plans, while criticising the minerals and waste plan as not up to scratch.

It said: “Our concerns remain that West Berkshire is unable to deliver sufficient mineral requirements over their plan period, both in terms of reserves and production capacity and also the lack of identification of waste management facilities for nonhazardous residual waste for the whole plan period.

“We therefore question whether the plan is positively prepared, effective and justified in its ability to deliver both the minerals and the waste requirements over the plan period.

“Regrettably, our concerns lead us to the view that the plan in its current form is unsound.”

Oxfordshire council officers were concerned that while there is room in the county’s landfill sites, particularly at Sutton Courtenay, West Berkshire cannot keep relying on this, as the site is due to close in 2030.

They were also worried that West Berkshire appears not to have looked into all the potential sites where it could dig up soft sand deposits within its own borders.

Many of these sites are difficult to dig because they are in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and require added paperwork to extract.

Councils are legally obliged to maintain seven-year supplies of minerals used for building like soft sand, sharp sand and gravel, so that housebuilders have them close at hand.

Oxfordshire appears

to be bountiful in its supply of landfill and minerals compared to its neighbour, as it is a net exporter of minerals to other areas, as well as a net importer of landfill, meaning it receives more rubbish from other areas than it sends to them.

While Oxfordshire is objecting to its neighbour relying on taking minerals from its patch, the council has drawn up a ‘statement of intent’ with West Berkshire.

This document, if agreed by the neighbouring council, will mean it revises its plans, and does more to find landfill sites within its own borders, and meet its need for 790,000 tonnes of soft sand by 2037.

If it cannot after pursuing all options, Oxfordshire will then agree to help shoulder some of the burden.

The objections and statement of intent were signed off by Oxfordshire’s cabinet, its most senior councillors, at a meeting on Tuesday, March 16.

Cabinet member Lorraine Lindsay-Gale said mineral extraction was already ‘challenging’ enough for residents.

She added: “The idea that the county should have to supply West Berkshire is very unwelcome and unacceptable to say the least.”

DAVID LYNCH