Following the outcry against the proposed closure of this Service and the consequent setting up of a joint County, District & Parish Councillors Task Force to review the proposal, it has been agreed to continue the Service, with some minor changes, until March 2009.

The main changes are: - all metal items will now go into the caged unit for recycling, and hazardous waste such as TVs and computers will no longer be accepted.

From April 2009, a revised fortnightly mobile service will  concentrate on green waste for recycling,  co-ordinated with the roll out of the District Council’s new improved kerb-side collection  arrangements.  The mobile service for non-recyclable waste will also continue, but on a less frequent basis – possibly monthly.

This joint working by the local community  has achieved success, and the County Council has pledged to keep us  informed on the service in future.

There will be a Forum meeting to update local community groups, Parish Councils and Residents Associations about the West Sussex Minerals and Waste Development Framework (MWDF) on Wednesday, 9 July from 7 to 9.30pm at the Steyning Centre, Fletchers Croft Steyning.

Invitations have been issued to those who may have been involved with the work that the County Council Minerals and Waste Policy Team (the Team) undertook during 2005 and 2006. The Government announced further changes to the planning system since then and the decision was taken to wait until the outcome of these changes was known until proceeding further with the MWDF. Rather than producing three separate documents, it is likely that there will be a single Core Strategy document including strategic minerals and waste sites. Comments received from the previous consultation will inform this work.

The aim of the Forum is to provide a chance to catch up with where the Team is with the work and to check, challenge and seek clarification of information and thinking so far, and local input is important to the early evidence gathering stage. The evening will be run by County Council officers and facilitated by an independent team from Inside Outreach who are working with the Team enhance their community engagement.

Hopefully people will leave the meeting clear about what is going on; what the changes are to the planning system and how it applies in West Sussex. Feedback will also be sought on some of the evidence the Team has gathered so far. This will be in preparation for a more formal consultation in 2009.

Attendance is by specific invitation only. If you represent a community group in the Bramber Castle area, have previously contributed to the work of the Team or consider you have an input to make on behalf of a community group not originally involved, and have not been invited, please contact me by 23 June. Spaces are limited and so it may not be possible for you now to be invited, but I will see if a place can be found.

The consultation period will be from May to July 2008.

The County Policy & Resources Select Committee on Wednesday (7th) at County Hall will be considering the methods used in preparing the draft Strategy, whether additional groups might be engaged in the preparation of the Strategy work and how to promote the consultation in local communities.

The Strategy will be for all the population, not just those who have been traditionally been supported because they have been seen to have the highest needs. It should: -

aim to build strong and cohesive communities where individuals feel included and recognise their responsibilities;

assist individuals and communities to access services and opportunities with minimal intervention; and

encourage service providers to work as partners in focusing needs and aspirations of people, ensuring that there are high quality affordable services, and improving information provision from a variety of sources including through the web, so people can identify, and take, opportunities and choices.

I will be suggesting that Parish Councils should be included in the consultation, and will be reporting on this the Upper Beeding and Bramber Parish Council meetings this week.

A summary of the Framework document is available from the County Council at:

www.westsussex.gov.uk/scs

Please read the Framework, consider the information it presents, and then respond to the questions at the end of the document.

In view of the representations made by the Task Force reviewing the Service, the County Cabinet Member has deferred the current closure of the present Service from 30 June, 2008 to 30 September, 2008.

Derek Deedman has welcomed the news as it will give the task Force longer to consider the possible options for the way forward, and allow a sub-group of the Task Force to consider the technical options being drawn up by the County & District officers.

The sub-group will consist of just Parish Councillors and the technical officers involved with the Service. Jackie Campbell, the Chairman of Steyning Parish Council, together with other Parish Councillors from Thakeham, Pulborough, Washington, Storrington and Henfield. The first meeting of the sub-group will be on Monday, 28 April.

The second Task Force meeting took place yesterday and progress is being made towards consideration of possible options for the way forward.

Following the discussions which have taken place to date, to address the main problems of health & safety and lack of recycling from the present facilities the options include: -

Replacing the existing service, with an ongoing, but restricted recycling service, possibly on a less frequent basis (green waste only and/or monthly/summer only),

Offering all householders an additional green collection bin (at a cost – approx £50 for the bin plus £50/£75pa for collection),

Provision of a free home compostor to all households who wish to have one,

Subsidising a bulky refuse collection for large items,

In addition a restricted general waste service for waste going to landfill might continue.

The next meeting is planned for Monday, 28 April to hopefully agree the final recommendation to be made to the County Cabinet Member who will make the final decision.

Please let me know any comments you may have on the above options.

Despite excellent speeches from seven local residents explaining why the planning application to extend the life of the Horton Landfill Site at Small Dole should be refused, including health fears, the majority of the County Planning Committee voted to approve the application.

Local County Councillor, Derek Deedman, in his presentation to the Committee, highlighted the continuing growth in heavy traffic throughout the area, the fact that the Head of Waste Management Services (the Waste Disposal arm of the County Council) had told him that the Site did not feature in the Interim Contract for Waste Disposal (thus shooting down the claims that there was a need for the extra waste facility at Small Dole), and that the draft County Minerals & Waste Planning Framework policy on land raising (which this scheme was) stated that it did not form part of the preferred waste strategy and was unlikely to be acceptable. He then read out an example email from two local residents showing what a very bad impact the operation of the Site had on their daily life. Derek also referred to the litter from vehicles going into and out of the Site and wanted an extra planning condition to require vehicle containers to be covered to prevent spillage or loss of material onto the public highways. He finally asked for the application to fill the present void to be approved by extending planning permission to 1 June 2009, (with a further 18 months for restoration only), but called for the bid for extra waste to be tipped at the Site to be refused.During the Planning Committee discussion some of the Committee members were concerned at the health fears which had been raised by the Henfield Medical Centre, outlined by some of the residents speaking against the scheme, but wanted this addressed by stronger planning conditions rather than to refuse the application. One Member took the view that his area had suffered from planning decisions in the past - so why shouldn’t Small Dole receive the same treatment! Another Member felt that although the Committee had refused a similar land-raising waste application in the recent past, because this had then been allowed on appeal by the planning inspector, the Committee could not refuse this application.

Two Members did, however, speak out against the application. One agreed that the present void should be filled, but that any further tipping went against what could be regarded under the Human Rights Act as proportionate in terms of its continuing effects upon the private lives and homes of Small Dole residents. They had had their ’share’ of waste disposal. The other Member felt that the quality of life of local people was important and the County Council should base its actions on improving and enhancing the quality of life of all its residents.

Following a discussion as to how the planning conditions could be improved to better control the toxic and other gases and smells from the Site, the Committee decided, despite the objections, to approve the planning application. The use of the Site for disposal of waste is now to cease on or before 1 October, 2010, with restoration to be completed by 1 April 2012.

Derek said, “I hate to lose any debate, and although the odds were stacked against the application being refused I really thought there might have been a chance this time. For the people of Small Dole it is an extremely disappointing decision.”

The County Planning Committee meets at 10.30am tomorrow (Tuesday, 8 April) to decide the planning application to extend the life of the Site to 2010 (from 1 April 2008).

The meeting takes place at County Hall and is open to the public. The Small Dole Action Group and Derek Deedman (local County Councillor) will be calling on the Committee to refuse the application.

County planning officers are making this recommendation in the teeth of the protests and objections from the Small Dole Action Group (representing the vast majority of the some 700 Small Dole residents on this matter), over 250 individual local objections on an e-petition and by letter, and official objections from Upper Beeding and Henfield Parish Councils, Horsham District Council and from the South Downs  Joint Committee (the committee representing all the local authorities within the proposed South Downs National Park).

The only supporters of the planning application appear to be officers who work for unelected bodies such as the Environment Agency, the Health & Safety Executive and the West Sussex Primary Care Trust, all of whom probably live nowhere near Small Dole! Many of their comments are on the lines of the phrase: - “Should the County Council be minded to grant planning permission imposition of appropriate conditions to control noise and odour is essential.” (Horsham planning officers.)  But this is already being done at Small Dole, and life remains intolerable from smells alone for the well over 700 people who live in the Village. It has to be accepted that no conditions or controls will ever stop this situation near any waste landfill site and so such comments from officers are meaningless.

Whilst it is accepted that the present unfinished part of the site has to be filled, capped and the the necessary restoration and aftercare carried out (and even the Small Dole Action Group accept this), there is no case to raise the final restored levels as proposed to allow more waste to be tipped than currently approved.  Planning approval for this would be at the continued detriment to the health and life of Small Dole villagers as well as to the environment of those who live on the routes for heavy lorry traffic to the Site through Upper Beeding, Steyning, Woodmancote and Henfield.

The County Planning Committee members will visit the Small Dole site on Thursday 3 April, and then will meet again to discuss and decide on the officers recommendations on Tuesday, 8 April. The committee meeting is open to the public and will start at 10.30 am at County Hall. This planning application is the only major item on the agenda. Representatives of the Small Dole Action Group are expected to present their reasoned objections to the Committee, and Derek Deedman, as the local County Councillor, will also ask permission from the Committee Chairman to address the meeting.

People in this area have had more than enough of this landfill site; hopefully democracy will prevail and the Committee will listen to their views and reject the officers recommendations on 8 April.

At a well attended Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) meeting in Pulborough last night, Horsham District Councillors attacked County Council representatives over the proposed closure of the Mobile Waste Service at the end of June.

Yet, as became quite clear, it is Horsham District Council, who operate the Service on the County Council’s behalf, who are refusing to operate the Service after that date on health and safety grounds! And other potential operators have told County Officers that they would not take on the task. So, even if the other concerns County has about the Service can be addressed, it looks impossible to continue after the end of June unless the Horsham District Councillors turn their fire on their own leaders to get them to change their minds about operating the Service.

Despite a presentation by the County Officers explaining the reasons for the proposed closure of the Service, both District and Parish Councillors and the public present were against the proposal. Many good points were made (including those made by Bramber, Steyning and Upper Beeding residents to local Councillors), refuting some of the closure reasons, highlighting the consequences in increased environmental costs from the extra driving to distant Household Waste Sites, and suggesting some constructive ideas on the way forward.

One of the main themes was the view that at the very least the Service must continue until suitable and acceptable alternatives were in operation. But, as Derek Deedman pointed out, this is dependent on Horsham District Councillors agreeing to continue to operate the Service on the County’s behalf.

It was announced that CLC Chairman, Pat Arculus, will be chairing the Task Force which the County Cabinet Member has set up to carry out an urgent review of the situation, and that locally Derek Deedman, District Cllr George Cockman and Steyning Parish Chairman Jackie Campbell will also be members of the Task Force.

The Task Force is planned to meet a number of times over the next few weeks and will make recommendations to the Cabinet Member by the end of April. He committed himself last night that he would to do everything in his power to implement the recommendations from the Task Force.

At the end of the day, although the Horsham District Councillors need to sort out their own Council’s role in this matter, a number of valid points were made at the meeting and these will be considered by the Task Force in its deliberations over the next month. All is not yet lost, the Cabinet Member is now fully aware of the wishes of local people to keep this Service, and hopefully the Task Force will be able to recommend a way forward which will be acceptable to all concerned.

This debate will be taking place at Pulborough Village Hall tomorrow night.

The debate will start about 7.25pm at the Chanctonbury County Local Committee meeting. The four county councillors for the area (Henfield, Bramber Castle, Storrington and Pulborough) want to hear your views and suggestions on saving this service.

The Head of Wastes Management will also be at the meeting to explain the background to the proposed closure.

If you want to comment on the possible closure of this Service please come along tomorrow evening!

Apart from this meeting, County Councillors Derek Deedman and Frank Wilkinson (Storrington) hope to be members of a Task Force being set up by the County Cabinet Member responsible for the Mobile Waste Service (together with representative District  and Parish Councillors) to advise him on what should now happen. Whether you can attend the meeting in Pulborough or not, please send us your views so that they may be taken into account in the Task Force deliberations.