Purpose

For Cabinet to approve the first stages of the preparation of the Surrey Minerals and Waste Local Plan.

Decision

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet agree to commence preparation of new-style Minerals and Waste Local Plan in line with the indicative Local Plan Timetable provided at Annex 1 and Notices of Intention to Commence and Withdrawal at Annex 2. 

1. That Cabinet delegates authority to the Director for Environment and Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning to approve the preliminary stages of the Minerals and Waste Local Plan, namely (i) the launch of the scoping consultation in December 2026; and (ii) the publication of and any future updates to the Local Plan Timetable as necessary and appropriate.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

Surrey County Council is the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority for the county. It has a legal obligation to maintain an up-to-date local plan, or multiple plans, for minerals and waste management development. The existing Surrey Waste Local Plan was adopted in 2020, while the development plan documents which form the Surrey Minerals Plan were adopted in 2011 and 2013. Government planning policy stipulates that policies in local plans should be reviewed at least every five years to assess whether they need updating, meaning that all parts of both plans are due to be reviewed.

Following the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023, which amended parts of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and pursuant to the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, a new local plan-making system commenced in March 2026.

The new plan-making system includes strict procedural and timescale requirements and necessitates Surrey County Council to give notice of its intention to commence preparation of the Minerals and Waste Local Plan afresh by 31 December 2026, and to pass the first of three formal Gateways by 30 April 2027.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)