<p>Rother District Council</p><p>COUNCIL MEETING</p><p>28 September 2009</p><p>PUBLIC QUESTION 1</p><p>Name of person submitting the question: Mr Nick Hollington</p><p>Member to whom the question is to be put: Councillor Carl Maynard</p><p>Question</p><p>You will be aware of the recent publication and presentation to the East Sussex County Council’s Cabinet of their proposed "Preferred Strategy for Waste", which includes Ashdown Brickworks as the County Council's "Preferred Option" for a landfill site?</p><p>Do you recognise the egregious effect such a landfill, if implemented, would have on the town of Bexhill and that it would set back, if not nullify, the Council's efforts to achieve its regeneration? </p><p>Answer</p><p>The Preferred Strategy does identify Ashdown brickworks as a potential site for land disposal. </p><p>The reasons for this are explained in Section 12:</p><p>Options for the spatial location / distribution of land disposal facilities and the relative merits of prioritising existing land disposal sites and mineral voids, or allowing land disposal (landraising) on greenfield sites, have been considered. Spatial relationships between such sites and areas of arisings have also been evaluated. National policy would indicate prioritisation of mineral voids (such as clay workings), in preference to developing landraising facilities on greenfield sites. The assessment also indicates a preference for sites that are closer to areas where waste arises.</p><p>The Waste Local Plan currently allocates Ashdown Brickworks as potentially suitable for Landfill. Ashdown Brickworks offers a substantial mineral void close to one of the major urban areas of waste arisings in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. Notwithstanding this, it is clear that the development of the Ashdown Brickworks site for landfill would involve the need to overcome a number of environmental and operational constraints. Further, the potential capacity of Ashdown Brickworks would need to be established in more detail than at present to demonstrate soundness of the Core Strategy. In timing terms, this site is also unlikely to fulfil all the necessary requirements. Therefore primary areas of search have been identified that might offer opportunities for the development of a landraise site within them (see Plan 4). This will be investigated further. cl0909 – Public Q1 1 It should be noted that the inclusion of Ashdown Brickworks for development as a landfill site in the Waste Local Plan came about following a public inquiry into the Plan by an independent planning inspector. The Inspector considered that any potentially harmful impacts could be mitigated against. It should be noted that any landfill development would need separate planning permission. This would have to be considered against the policies of the relevant development plans and other material considerations which are likely to include the absence of harm to the amenity of the area. Development of this nature would also likely require submission of a separate environmental assessment.</p><p>Rother District Council had consistently and fundamentally opposed the inclusion of the land at Pebsham and Ashdown Brickworks site in the Waste Local Plan. </p><p>--oo0oo--</p><p> cl0909 – Public Q1 2</p>