Draft National Policy Statement on Waste Water
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The Draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water Report (HC 736) was published on Tuesday 5 April 2011. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee launched an inquiry into the proposal for a National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 November. The NPS sets out the proposed policy framework to inform planning decisions on applications for large waste water infrastructure projects, such as sewage treatment works. The Committee’s scrutiny focussed on the following four areas: 1. Responses to the questions in Defra’s consultation. 2. Do the general planning principles set out in the proposed Waste Water NPS form a coherent, appropriate, proportionate and practical framework within which the Infrastructure Planning Commission and other planners can assess future waste water infrastructure planning applications? 3. Are the sustainability and environmental criteria outlined in the draft Waste Water NPS and associated documents appropriate, proportionate and practical? 4. Have issues or principles been left out which should have been included in the draft Waste Water NPS? Committee Chair Anne McIntosh said “Waste water infrastructure is vital to our society and it is essential that its development is managed within the best planning framework. The principles and guidelines set out in the draft National Policy Statement will affect the granting of planning permission for certain key schemes and will therefore affect local communities and businesses as well as other stakeholders across the country. It is essential that we get this NPS right so my committee is keen to hear views or concerns from anyone with an interest in the proposed Waste Water NPS." Further information on The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water inquiry including details of Report, Response and evidence”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
The UK’s 347,000 kilometre network of sewers and 9,000 sewage treatment works fulfil the vital function of managing over 11 billion litres of waste water each day. Changing weather patterns and population growth are leading to increased volumes of waste water in some parts of the country. Although improved water efficiency and the increased use of sustainable drainage systems can help to keep this increase to a minimum, in coming years there will be a need to construct new infrastructure to manage waste water. In particular new infrastructure is needed in the River Thames area to cope with population growth and to meet the European Union’s environmental requirements. It is therefore essential that the planning system for large waste water projects is as efficient as possible, to ensure that the new infrastructure is delivered in a timely manner while giving sufficient attention to the impacts on local communities and water and sewerage company customers who ultimately pay for such projects.
The National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water has the potential to provide a valuable policy framework to guide decision makers in their consideration of new large-scale projects under the streamlined provisions of the Planning Act 2008. However, the draft NPS is a work in progress which will require considerable revision to make it complete and accurate. In particular, the site-specific sections should be removed and the NPS should focus wholly on providing clear generic criteria applicable to all Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).
Furthermore, the Planning Act’s new regime for NSIPs does not currently apply to the Thames Tunnel project—a surprising omission given that this multi-billion pound project is one of only two waste water projects likely to be of sufficient scale to come within the ambit of this NPS. The Government must rectify this urgently.
We expect Ministers in preparing the final version of the Waste Water NPS to take account both of our recommendations for improving the draft document and of responses to Defra’s public consultation. We recommend a debate on the floor of the House of Commons and, subject to its outcome and the incorporation of the recommended changes, we consider that the Secretary of State should designate this NPS.
What the government said
4th Report - The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water
No government response is linked to this report.
4th Report - The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water - Volume II (Additional written evidence)
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 18 November 2010 to its close on 1 April 2012.
- Report 2 reports
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 4th Report - The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water ↗ and 4th Report - The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on Waste Water - Volume II (Additional written evidence) ↗ on parliament.uk.