Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence received.

Apologies were received from Cllr Lulu Bowerman. Cllr Sarah Pankhurst deputised for her at the meeting.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no deputations.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman thanked Members for attending the meeting considering the short agenda and explained that the item on the agenda required a decision at this time.

To consider a report from the Assistant Director of Minerals, Waste and Environment, which seeks approval for the construction and use of an explosive waste burning facility at Hirtenberger Defence International Ltd, Craydown Lane, Stockbridge Middle Wallop.

The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Director of Minerals, Waste and Environment, which was seeking approval for the construction and use of an explosive waste burning facility at Hirtenberger Defence International Ltd, Craydown Lane, Stockbridge Middle Wallop.

An update report had been published relating to comments received from Councillor Drew after he had spoken to the Parish Council.

The officer introduced the application, explaining that it was for an explosive waste burning facility on the site and was an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development, required for Schedule 1 of the regulations. The officer pointed out that the waste burning would be of small amounts and would only be used approximately once a month. The officer further explained that there was no other way to dispose of the waste in situ, whilst being managed in accordance with the waste hierarchy.

The officer confirmed that there had been no site visit due to the small-scale nature of the proposal, but that ‘visuals’ had been included in the report to aid the Committee’s understanding of the application.

The officer gave a presentation to the Committee, explaining that it was a well-established site, dissected by Craydown Road, with the south side most used, and illustrated this with a map.

The presentation further included:

• aerial shots, which included an illustration of where the waste burning facility would be located and its proximity to other facilities on the site and how it would be screened

• an isometric view – how the facility would sit in the landscape and confirmed that there would be no external excavations

• an illustration of the design of the ‘burn pad,’ explaining how it would be brought onto site and housed

• cross sections and how the facility would sit in the ground and its dimensions

• photographs of various views of the site, including the boundaries and the view from the nearest right of way

• The key issues.

The officer drew the Committee’s attention to the consultations that had been made as explained in the report. The officer reported that an update report from Councilllor Drew had been received on 5 September 2022 and published to the report pack on 6 September 2022 for the Committee’s information.

The Chairman asked how much waste had accumulated on site over the past four years and did the site currently have a lot to dispose of. The officer confirmed that there would not be an accumulation of large amounts of waste but the exact amounts were unknown. However, the level of the burning process would be strictly governed by other Regulations outside of the planning process.

Planning permission was GRANTED subject to the conditions listed in Appendix A.

Voting

Favour: 15 (unanimous)