Minerals and Waste Local Plan

Following changes to the Government's local plan-making system in March 2026, work on the current Minerals and Waste Local Plan has stopped and a new plan is being prepared.

Surrey County Council is starting this work, with responsibility transferring to East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council from 1 April 2027.

Surrey County Council is responsible for planning for minerals and waste management development in Surrey. This means making sure there is a sufficient supply of minerals, such as sand and gravel, and enough facilities to manage the county's waste.

To do this, we need an up-to-date minerals and waste local plan that guides future development and planning decisions.

In November 2021, we started preparing a Minerals and Waste Local Plan to replace the county’s existing minerals and waste planning policies. The Minerals and Waste Local Plan was originally scheduled to be published for public consultation in June 2027 and adopted in 2029.

However, in March 2026, the Government introduced a new system for preparing local plans in England (GOV.UK). The new system requires local plans to be prepared and adopted within a compressed timeframe of 30-months.

As a result, we must stop work on the old-style Minerals and Waste Local Plan and begin preparing a new-style Minerals and Waste Local Plan under the Government’s new plan-making system.