New Year, New North London Waste Plan

"Work on developing a new North London Waste Plan is scheduled to start in the New Year after a planning inspector ruled the existing document was unsuitable [rubbish].

"The new North London Waste Plan (NLWP) will be drawn up by Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest Councils.

"It will set out how much waste the seven boroughs need to process, explain how planning applications for waste facilities in the boroughs will be decided and identify enough sites for waste management.

"A spokesperson for the NLWP, said:

“We have listened to the decision of the planning inspector and while we are disappointed with his decision, we believe the most appropriate way forward is to not adopt the current plan and start work on a new one as early as possible in the New Year.

We need to deal with more of our own rubbish and we’re determined to produce a plan that meets the needs of North London and identifies how the waste management facilities we need can be provided.

We’ll take the information we gathered in producing the original plan and use that as the basis for the new version, while taking into account the comments made by the planning inspector, so the work we’ve done to date will not be wasted. It's worth bearing in mind that the original plan was produced before the duty to co-operate was introduced.”

"Planning Inspector Andrew Mead was appointed to examine the NLWP but on the first day of the hearing in June he only heard evidence over whether the seven boroughs had failed to comply with the new Duty to Co-operate with local authorities who receive waste for landfill from North London.

"In August the Inspector decided the NLWP was not legally compliant because it did not meet the duty to co-operate and as result the examination into the soundness of the plan could not continue.

"To formally end the examination of the old NLWP the boroughs will now ask the Inspector to write his report which will recommend that the plan is not adopted and to start on a new version of the plan.

"This will formally call a halt to the old plan and enable work to start on the new plan.

"The boroughs will be writing to partners in the New Year to tell them about the new plan and how they can get involved.