Public Consultation Plan sets out next steps for West Suffolk Operational Hub

18 Dec 2015

Three partner councils looking to create a single site for waste and vehicle management in West Suffolk have published a plan for the next stage of consultation which will start on 8 January and finish six weeks later on 19 February 2016.

Forest Heath District Council, St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Suffolk County Council put forward plans for a single, shared West Suffolk Operational Hub (WSOH) earlier this year on land to the north of Bury St Edmunds. The councils carried out a pre-application consultation for the Hollow Road Farm site – considered to be good practice before any planning application is formally submitted.

In a joint statement, the councils’ three Cabinet members responsible for waste management – Cllr David Bowman (Forest Heath), Cllr Matthew Hicks (Suffolk County) and Cllr Peter Stevens (St Edmundsbury) – said: “It became evident from the comments and questions we received that some people in West Suffolk believed there may be other options to consider. The partner councils had carefully considered the way we should manage waste in the future, researched a number of options and identified a potential site but we accept that we did not share enough of this information with residents. We will now put that right by making the research publicly available so people can read it for themselves and let us know if they think there is a more suitable option.”

The Public Consultation Plan, which is available online at www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/wsoh sets out what information will be available, where people can view it, details of three drop-in exhibitions and a public meeting, how to provide feedback and how that feedback will be used. From 8 January 2016 the partner councils will be consulting on:

• the need for a single site (a West Suffolk Operational Hub)
• the site selection criteria and the way it was applied (with an opportunity for the public to suggest sites that the WSOH partner councils may not have considered yet, or to give reasons why one of the rejected sites should be reconsidered).

A Sustainability Appraisal (which looks at the environmental, social and economic effects of any future proposals) will also be available as additional background information for scrutiny and comment.

From 8 January information will be available online www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/wsoh and at these places:

• West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds
• Library, Sergeants Walk, Bury St Edmunds
• The Apex, Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds
• District Council Offices, College Heath Road, Mildenhall
• Library, The Guineas, Newmarket and
• Haverhill House, Lower Downs Slade, Haverhill

There will also be information available and people to talk to at the following events.

Drop-in events

• Friday 15 January, 2.30pm to 6pm, Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds
• Saturday 16 January, 10am to 1pm, The Apex, Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds
• Tuesday 19 January, 4-8pm, St John’s Centre, St John’s Street, Bury St Edmunds

Public meeting

Friday 29 January, 7pm, Athenaeum, Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds.

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