KINGS CLIFFE WASTE WATCHERS

The current planning permission for the disposal of hazardous and radioactiuve waste at the King's Cliffe landfill is due to expire in August 2013.

Augean have already begun the process of submitting new applications for further development of the site.

There are 3 new appications, and all are being submitted concurrently:
  1. Extension in time of the present permission until 2016
  2. Extension of void space on the site - approximately 1 million cubic metres, and time extension to run until 2026
  3. Extension of time for the soil treatment plant until 2026

LATEST

The Government has now decided that the matter should be referred direct to the Infrastructure Planning Commission, rather than go through the route of Parish, District and County Councils for approval. This still means that all these bodies, and any individual, will have the right to put forward an opinion on the application. Augean will present its application in December 2011. Further details of what to do will be added to this page as soon as this happens.

VERY LATEST!
As of mid January 2012, Augean has decided also to submit an application for an extension of the existing planning permission until 2016 through the normal County Council process, at the same time as continuing its IPC application. This is because it fears the IPC will not have made a decision by the time the existing planning permission expires in mid 2013. So there are two application procedures going on at once! The main difference to bear in mind is that the application until 2016 only concerns a time extension, not an enlargement of the area for dumping. However, as it will inevitably lead into the application for an extension to time and area until 2026, it is certainly worth commenting on both together. Augean says it will submit this new application to the County Council in March 2012.

If you want to help fight both these applications, then the best way to do it is to email/write, as your views have to be taken into account and responded to in the applications. This need not mean a lot of time and effort in writing letters; one letter/email of objection can do for all the stages but you will have to send it to different people at different times. These times are explained in the table below.

This is a relatively easy, inexpensive, and probably the most effective way of opposing the applications. Please don't be put off by the fact that we lost the first time. Yes, Augean does have a 'foot in the door', but these are entirely new applications and have to be judged on their own merits. The issues, at least as far as our community is concerned, are even more important this time. The alternative is to do nothing, which guarrantees that Augean will prevail...

1. Pre-application - until 29 Jan 2012
The process begins when the IPC is informed by a developer that they intend to submit an application to us in the future. At that point, the proposal which we expect to receive as an application in the future is added to our Programme of Projects along with the date on which we expect the application to be submitted. Meanwhile, the developer will be consulting the public over their proposal and using the comments they receive to continue to improve it.

Click here to find full details of the preliminary proposals. Wastewatchers urge you to write to the company with your views since they are obliged to include them in their Statement of Community Engagement. Last time very few people wrote, so Augean were able to argue that there was general acceptance for the proposals.

2. Acceptance

Once an application is submitted to the IPC, we have 28 days from the day after receipt, to decide whether or not to accept it for IPC examination. We make this decision by considering a number of factors, including considering whether the right environmental issues have been identified and if the developer’s public consultation has been adequate.

3. Pre-examination

At this stage, the public will be able to register to have their say to the IPC about the application and provide a summary of their views in writing. At pre-examination stage, everyone who has registered to have their say on the proposal will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting run and chaired by an IPC Commissioner. This stage of the process takes approximately 3 months from the developer’s formal notification and publicity of an accepted application.

4. Examination
The IPC has six months to carry out the examination. During this stage, people who have registered to have their say, are invited to provide more details of their views in writing, they may also request open floor hearings are held.

5. Decision
If the relevant National Policy Statement(s) has been designated, the IPC make the decision on an application. We have three months in which to do this. If a National Policy Statement is still in draft form, the IPC will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State who will make the decision. The IPC will publish all decisions here on our website.

6. Post decision
If the decision is to grant development consent, a period for legal challenge runs from the date of the publication of the order (or the statement of reasons if published later). The legal challenge period runs from the publication of the statement of reasons if the decision is to refuse to make the order. Further information about legal challenge can be found in the letter accompanying the statement of reasons.

For more information on Augean's plans and proposals, click here

For more information on the IPC process, click here

For more information on possible reasons for objection, click here, and see rest of this website

(Current stage in red)