Active (site): site where development relating to a planning permission is being carried out to a substantial extent.
Adaptation: In relation to Policy DM2 (Climate change - mitigation and adaptation) adaptation relates to ensuring that minerals and waste developments minimise their effect on climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emission, sustainable use of resources, developing energy recovery facilities, utilising low carbon technologies or avoiding areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Aftercare: Action necessary to bring restored land up to the required standard for an agreed after-use such as agriculture, forestry or amenity.
Aggregate recycling site: Facilities where hard, inert materials are crushed and screened (filtered) to produce recycled/secondary aggregate of various grades. Aggregates may be produced from construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste, or incinerator bottom ash (IBA) from energy recovery facilities.
Amenity: Something considered necessary to live comfortably.
Anaerobic Digestion (AD): A biological process making it possible to degrade organic matter by producing biogas, which is a renewable energy source and sludge, used as fertiliser.
Ancient Woodland: A statutory designation for woodland that is believed to have existed from at least 1600 AD.
Ancillary development: A group term encapsulating a variety of types of minor development that are associated with the primary permitted minerals and/or waste development that generally have minimal environmental impact
Appraisal: An assessment of a proposal for the purposes of determining its value, viability and deliverability taking into account the positive and negative impacts the development would have.
Appropriate location: A location which meets the criteria set out in Policy W4, M4 and/or M7 and complies with all other policies within the JMWP.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): Areas of countryside considered to have significant landscape value and protected to preserve that value. Originally identified and designated by the Countryside Commission under Sections 87 and 88 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Natural England is now responsible for designating AONBs and advising Government and other organisations on their management and upkeep.
Beneficial after-use: In relation to Policy DM8 (Restoration of minerals and waste developments), beneficial afteruses are when following minerals or waste development, the land is returned land back to a beneficial condition following the end of development through restoration.
Biodiversity Opportunity Area (BOA): Specific geographical areas with the best opportunity to restore and create habitats of regional importance. They are defined entirely on the basis of identifying those areas where conservation action is likely to have the most benefit for biodiversity interest and opportunities for enhancement. The purpose of BOAs is to guide support for land management as they represent those areas where assistance for land management and habitat restoration would have particular benefit.
Biodiversity net gain: In relation to development this means leaving biodiversity is a better state post-development than it was pre-development. Biodiversity net gain is one component of wider ‘environmental net gain’.
Bird strike: Risk of aircraft collision with birds, which are often attracted to landfill sites containing organic waste or waterbodies.
Borrow pit: Where minerals are required for a particular major construction project, temporary borrow pits can sometimes be developed to obtain very local sources of sand, gravel, chalk or clay. Production from borrow pits is normally limited to use for a specific project, and usually has direct access from the pit to the construction site.
British Geological Survey (BGS): The BGS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is a supplier of capability in geoscience through survey, monitoring and research.
Brownfield: See previously developed land.
Capacity: Is the maximum amount of waste a site can realistically manage, or in relation to minerals it is the amount of material that can be extracted from a site per annum, bearing in mind any restrictions (such as permits, traffic, space, hours of working etc.).
Chalk: A soft white rock primarily formed from the mineral calcite. One of the uses of this mineral is in agriculture.
Civic amenity site: A facility provided by the Local Authority which is accessible to the general public to deposit waste which cannot be collected with the normal household waste, such as bulky items, garden waste and engine oil.
Clay: A fine-grained, firm earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated, consisting primarily of hydrated silicates of aluminium and widely used in making bricks, tiles, and pottery.
Climate change: The significant and lasting change in the distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years and the implications on the environment and community.
Coal measures: The layers of rock specifically from a time that geologists call the Upper Carboniferous period. The Coal Measures were deposited about 310 million years ago, and these layers of rock contain many coal seams. Coal seams are a bed of coal usually thick enough to be profitably mined.
Co-location: The placement of several activities in a single location.
Combined Heat & Power (CHP): Heating technology which generates heat and electricity simultaneously, from the same energy source.
Commercial & Industrial Waste (C&I): Waste generated by business and industry.
Composting: Aerobic decomposition of organic matter to produce compost for use as a fertiliser or soil conditioner.
Concrete batching plant: Devices used to mix various materials, such as sand and gravel, to form concrete.
Construction, Demolition & Excavation Waste (CD&E): Waste generated by the construction, repair, maintenance and demolition of buildings and structures. It mostly comprises brick, concrete, hardcore, subsoil and topsoil but can also include timber, metals and plastics.
Conventional hydrocarbons (oil and gas): Oil and gas where the reservoir is sandstone or limestone.
Corridor of disturbance: An area located on land surrounding a specific construction project where aggregate is extracted as part of the development. The corridor of disturbance relates to 'borrow pits' and indicates the area which aggregate can be extracted for specific projects.
Countryside: Areas that are not urbanised.
Cumulative impact: Impacts that accumulate over time, from one or more sources.
Defra biodiversity metric: The metric is a habitat-based approach to determining a proxy biodiversity value. It is an improved version of the metric piloted by Defra in 2012 in the context of the biodiversity offsetting pilots and incorporates many of the changes since, made or requested by industry experts.
Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG): The UK Government department for communities and local government in England (now referred to as the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government).
Design and Access Statement: A supporting document submitted with a planning application, in which developers state how their proposal is appropriate for the site and accessible to people who may use it.
Development considerations: These are identified in Appendix A (Allocated Sites) of the Plan and are identified for each of the site allocations in the Plan. Development considerations are issues which need to be met /addressed alongside the other policies in the Plan in the event that a planning application is submitted for development.
Development Management (DM): Development Management is the end-to-end management of the delivery chain for sustainable development. DM includes a wide number of planning activities such as designing, analysing, influencing, promoting, engaging, negotiating, decision-making, co-ordinating, implementation, compliance and enforcement.
Development Plan Document (DPD): Spatial planning documents which are subject to independent examination.
Disposal: Any operation which is not recovery. This includes operations which have a secondary consequence such as the reclamation of substances or energy.
Dry Mixed Recyclables (DMR): Dry recyclables is the modern description of waste that is free from contaminants such as construction, food or garden waste. Leaving clean materials such as paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, drinks cans and glass bottles to be sorted and recycled.
Emissions: In the context of the minerals and waste, emissions are gases released into the atmosphere as a result of human activity. A prominent greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide which arises from the combustion of fossil fuel and consequently contributes to climate change.
End of life vehicle (ELV): Vehicles which are no longer in use and are classified as waste.
Energy Recovery Facility (ERF): A facility at which waste material is burned to generate heat and/or electricity.
Environment Agency (EA): A public organisation with the responsibility for protecting and improving the environment in England. Its functions include the regulation of industrial processes, the maintenance of flood defences and water resources, water quality and the improvement of wildlife habitats.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): Systematic investigation and assessment of the likely effects of a proposed development, to be taken into account in the decision-making process under the Town and Country Planning (Environment Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999. The process is undertaken for a proposed development that would significantly affect the environment because of its siting, design, size or scale.
Environmental net gain: Improving all aspects of environmental quality through a scheme or project. Achieving environmental net gain means achieving biodiversity net gain first and going further to achieve increases in the capacity of affected natural capital to deliver ecosystem services and make a scheme’s wider impacts on natural capital positive.
Environmental Permit: Anyone who proposes to deposit, recover or dispose of waste is required to have a permit. The permitting system is administrated by the Environment Agency and is separate from, but complementary to, the land-use planning system. The purpose of a permit and the conditions attached to it are to ensure that the waste operation which it authorises is carried out in a way that protects the environment and human health.
Exception test: If, following a sequential test, it is not possible for development to be located in zones with a lower risk of flooding (taking into account wider sustainable development objectives), the exception test may have to be applied. For the exception test to be passed it should be demonstrated that: a) the development would provide wider sustainability benefits to the community that outweigh the flood risk; and b) the development will be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible, will reduce flood risk overall.
Extension (minerals site): This involves either the lateral expansion or deepening of the quarry to extract additional resources.
Extension (waste site): To provide additional waste capacity in relation to increased throughput and/or footprint of the site. Landfills may be expanded to cover a larger area or may be surcharged – that is, extended vertically upwards.
Flood protection: Protection of land and/or infrastructure from the impacts of flooding through mitigation measures such as coastal and flood water defences.
Flood resilience: The management of land and the development of flood defences to ensure that the risk of flooding is managed in a sustainable way.
Flood risk: Areas which have a flood risk have the potential to flood under certain weather conditions. Flood risk zones are determined by the Environment Agency. Areas at risk of flooding are categorised as follows:
Flood Risk Assessment (FRA): An assessment of the risk of flooding from all flooding mechanisms, the identification of flood mitigation measures and should provide advice on actions to be taken before and during a flood. The FRA should also demonstrate that the development will be safe for its lifetime and will not increase flood risk elsewhere.
Flood Risk Zones (FRZ): Defined geographical areas with different levels of flood risk. Flood risk zones are defined by the Environment Agency.
Gas: Is a hydrocarbon (see 'Hydrocarbons'). Gas is a non-renewable resource.
Gasification: A waste-treatment process in which waste is heated to produce a gas that is burned to generate heat energy.
Green Belt: An area designated in planning documents, providing an area of permanent separation between urban areas. The main aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the most important quality of Green Belts is their openness.
Green infrastructure: A network of high-quality green and blue spaces and other environmental features. It includes parks, open spaces, playing fields, woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, river and canal corridors allotments and private gardens. It can provide many social, economic and environmental benefits close to where people live and work including:
Green waste: Compostable garden waste.
Groundwater Source Protection Zones (GPZ): Geographical areas, defined by the Environment Agency, used to protect sources of groundwater abstraction.
Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA): Statutory requirement for Planning Authorities to assess the potential effects of land-use plans on designated European Sites in Great Britain. The Habitats Regulations Assessment is intended to assess the potential effects of a development plan on one or more European Sites (collectively termed 'Natura 2000' sites). The Natura 2000 sites comprise Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). SPAs are classified under the European Council Directive on the conservation of wild birds (79/409/EEC; Birds Directive) for the protection of wild birds and their habitats (including particularly rare and vulnerable species listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive, and migratory species).
Hazardous waste: Waste that contains hazardous properties that may render it harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes are listed in the European Waste Catalogue (EWC).
Health and Safety Executive (HSE): The national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness.
Heavy goods vehicles (HGV): A vehicle that is over 3,500kg unladen weight and used for carrying goods.
Hectare (Ha): 10,000 square metres
Highways Authority: The organisation responsible for the administration of public roads.
Household waste: Waste arising from domestic property which has been produced solely from the purposes of living, plus waste collected as litter from roads and other public places.
Hydrocarbons: Hydrocarbon comprising petroleum (oil and gas natural liquids) and gas are fossil fuels that occur concentrated in nature as economic accumulations trapped in structures and reservoir rocks beneath the earth surface. They are principally valued as a source of energy.
Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA): The coarse residue left on the grate of waste incinerators.
Inert waste: Waste that does not under go any significant physical, chemical or biological changes.
Landbank: A measure of the stock of planning permissions in an area, showing the amount of un-exploited mineral, with planning permissions, and how long those supplies will last at the locally apportioned rate of supply.
Landscape character: A combination of factors such as topography, vegetation pattern, land use and cultural associations that combine to create a distinct, recognisable character.
Land-won aggregates / minerals: Mineral/aggregate excavated from the land.
Landfill: The deposit of waste into voids in the ground.
Leachate: Water which seeps through a landfill site, extracting substances from the deposited waste to form a pollutant.
Listed Buildings and Sites: Buildings and sites protected under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
Local Aggregate Assessment (LAA): The National Planning Policy Framework requires all Mineral Planning Authorities to prepare an annual LAA. LAAs are to be based on a rolling average of 10 years sales data and other relevant local information, and an assessment of all supply options. The LAA establishes the provision to be made for aggregate supply in Mineral Local Plans.
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead economic growth and job creation within the local area. Central and Eastern Berkshire is located within the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.
Local requirement: A requirement (for mineral) within the Plan area or within a neighbouring authority area.
Local Wildlife Site (LWS): LWSs are wildlife-rich sites selected for their local nature conservation value. They vary in shape and size and can contain important, distinctive and threatened habitats and species.
Low carbon technologies: These are a range of technologies developed to specifically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere.
Managed Aggregate Supply System (MASS): A system to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregate mineral, to handle the significant geographical imbalances in the occurrence of suitable natural aggregate resources, and the areas where they are most needed. It requires mineral planning authorities which have adequate resources of aggregates to make an appropriate contribution to national as well as local supply, while giving due allowance for the need to control any environmental damage to an acceptable level. It also ensures that areas with smaller amounts of aggregate make some contribution towards meeting local and national need where that can be done sustainably.
Material considerations: A matter that should be taken into account in deciding a planning application or on an appeal against a planning decision. Material considerations can include (but are not limited to); overlooking/loss of privacy, loss of light or overshadowing, parking, highway safety, etc. Issues such as loss of view, or negative effect on the value of properties are not material considerations.
Materials recovery facility (MRF): A facility where elements of the waste stream are mechanically or manually separated before recycling and/or are bulked, crushed, baled and stored for reprocessing, either on the same site or at a material reprocessing plant.
Methane: The main constituent of natural gas (a fossil fuel). It is found in naturally occurring gas field deposits within the ground but can also be harvested as a by-product of anaerobic decomposition of organic materials by bacteria. Methane is used as fuel to generate heat and power, and when released into the atmosphere acts as a powerful greenhouse gas and is much more potent than carbon dioxide.
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG): The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's (formerly the Department for Communities and Local Government) job is to create great places to live and work, and to give more power to local people to shape what happens in their area.
Million tonnes (mt): Acronym.
Million tonnes per annum (mtpa): Acronym.
Mineral: Limited and finite natural resources which can only be extracted where they are found geologically.
Minerals and Waste Consultation Area (MWCA): An area identified to ensure consultation between the planning authorities before certain non-mineral or waste planning applications made within the area are determined.
Minerals and Waste Safeguarding Area (MWSA): A Minerals Safeguarding Area (see MSA) which also includes minerals and waste safeguarded sites.
Mineral resources: Mineral aggregates and hydrocarbons, which naturally occur in geological deposits in the earth.
Mineral Planning Authority: The local planning authorities responsible for minerals planning. In the Plan area, The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, and Wokingham Borough Council are minerals planning authorities.
Mineral Safeguarding Area (MSA): The MSA is defined by minerals planning authorities. They include viable resources of aggregates and are defined so that proven resources of aggregates are not sterilised by non-mineral development. The MSA does not provide a presumption for these resources to be worked.
Migration: This is the process by which negative or harmful effects caused by a development are prevented or lessened by incorporating countermeasures into the design or operation.
Mitigation hierarchy: The principle that environmental harm resulting from a development should be avoided (through locating development where there will be less harmful impacts), adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for.
Mitigation measures: Measures that reduce or minimise impacts.
Monitoring: Minerals and waste developments are monitored to ensure that they comply with the policies of the Plan and planning conditions attached to their
Monitoring Indicator: This is the aspect of the development that will be monitored in order to detect any deviation from what is either expected of the development or acceptable.
Monitoring Trigger: The threshold that, once passed, signifies there is an issue with the relevant policy in its current form and may require review.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Solid waste collected by waste collection authorities, predominantly household waste.
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): Published in March 2012 and subsequently updated in 2018, 2019 and 2021, the NPPF sets out the Government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.
Natural Capital: The world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often referred to as ecosystem services.
Natural England: Public body tasked with the conservation and improvement of the natural environment. Natural England designates Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks, manages National Nature Reserves and notifies Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Non-hazardous waste landfill: One of the three classifications of landfills made by the Landfill Directive, taking non-hazardous waste.
Non-hazardous waste: Waste permitted for disposal at a non-hazardous landfill. It is not inert or hazardous and includes the majority of household and commercial wastes.
Oil: A hydrocarbon (see 'Hydrocarbons'). Oil is a non-renewable resource.
Oil and gas: A hydrocarbon (see 'Hydrocarbons'). Oil and gas are non-renewable resources.
Open windrow composting: Involves the raw material (usually green and/or garden waste and cardboard) being arranged outdoors in long narrow piles on a hard and preferably impermeable surface. The windrows are mixed and turned regularly for aeration, by hand or mechanically.
Other locally recognised assets: In relation to Policy DM7 (Conserving the Historic Environment) other locally recognised assets are non-designated assets which, although do not have any statutory protection, are recognised locally as making a significant and positive contribution to local historic knowledge, character and features.
Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL): A PEDL allows a company to pursue a range of oil and gas exploration activities, subject to necessary drilling/development consents and planning permission.
Planning application: Operators proposing a new minerals or waste development need to apply for permission from the relevant planning authority in order to be allowed carry out their operations.
Planning permission: Once planning applications have been reviewed by the relevant planning authority, permission may be granted (i.e. consent for the proposed development is given). Permissions may have certain conditions or legal agreements attached which allow development as long as the operator adheres to these.
Policies Map: A map on an Ordnance Survey base showing spatial application of appropriate policies from the Development Plan.
Preparing for re-use: Checking, cleaning or repairing recovery operations, by which products or components of products that would have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing. While re-use is a part of the waste hierarchy, re-use operations are not generally considered waste management and may not require a location appropriate for waste management facilities.
Previously developed land: Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for mineral extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape.
Pre-application discussions: Engagement / discussions between applicants (and their agents) with the relevant minerals and waste planning authority prior to the submission of a formal application.
Production: Obtaining useful end products from minerals or waste material which may include the extraction of sand and gravel, producing recycled and secondary aggregate, extraction of oil and gas and the generation of energy from waste.
Prior Extraction: The removal of a mineral before a development begins construction on the same site.
Pyrolysis: Thermal decomposition at high temperatures taking place in an inert atmosphere.
Quarry: These are open voids in the ground from which minerals resources are extracted.
Rail depot: A railway facility where trains regularly stop to load or unload passengers or freight (goods). It generally consists of a platform and building next to the tracks providing related services.
Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance): Sites of international importance for waterfowl protected under the Ramsar Convention of the Conservation of Wetlands of International Importance, ratified by the UK Government in 1976.
Recyclate: A raw material that is sent to and processed in a waste recycling plant or materials recovery facility which will be used to form new products.
Re-use: Any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for either the same purpose for which they were conceived or other uses. While re-use is a part of the waste hierarchy, re-use operations are not generally considered waste management and may not require a location appropriate for waste management facilities.
Recovery: Any operation, the principal result of which, is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.
Recycled aggregates: Products manufactured from recyclables or the by-products of recovery and treatment processes, e.g. recycled concrete aggregates from CD&E waste.
Recycling: The series of activities by which discarded materials are collected, sorted, processed and converted into raw materials and used in the production of new products. Any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations.
Regeneration: Investment in capital in the review of urban area by improving what is there or clearing it away and restoring.
Renewable energy: Energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished.
Residues: Material remaining after a process has been undertaken e.g. waste processing can involve incineration which leaves residues of bottom ash and fly ash. See 'Incinerator Bottom Ash'.
Restoration: The process of returning a site to its former use or restoring it to a condition that will support an agreed after-use, such as agriculture or forestry.
Reverse logistics: Involves reducing vehicle movements by load bulking when transferring minerals and waste, for example, ensuring a HGV always enters and exits a site with a full load.
Rights of Way (RoW): Paths which the public have a legally protected right to use.
Routeing agreement: An agreement to require that vehicles be routed so as to avoid certain roads, possibly at all times or possibly at certain times of day e.g. to avoid conflict with peak hour traffic and/or arrivals and departures at school opening and closing times.
Safeguarding: The method of protecting needed facilities or mineral resources and of preventing inappropriate development from affecting it. Usually, where sites are threatened, the course of action would be to object to the proposal or negotiate an acceptable resolution.
Safeguarded site: Safeguarding protects minerals and waste sites from development pressures and inappropriate encroachment from nearby developments, preventing the unnecessary sterilisation of their associated resources and infrastructure.
Sand and gravel sales: Sales of sand and gravel from sites (for the purposes of monitoring these are sales from sites within the Plan area).
Scheduled Ancient Monument: Nationally important archaeological sites included in the Schedule of Ancient Monuments maintained by the Secretary of State under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
Secondary aggregate: Materials that do not meet primary aggregate (e.g. sand/gravel and crushed rock) specifications but which can be used instead of them. Secondary aggregates are by-products of other processes, including the production of primary aggregates.
South East England Aggregate Working Party (SEEAWP): Aggregate working parties provide technical advice about the supply and demand for aggregates (including sand, gravel and crushed rock) to the mineral planning authorities for the area and to inform the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The SEEAWP is formed of the mineral planning authorities in the south east and relevant industry representatives.
Sensitive Human Receptors: Locations where people live, sleep, work or visit that may be sensitive to the impact of minerals and waste activity on health, well-being and quality of life. Examples include houses, hospitals and schools.
Sewage sludge: Once the liquid component of sewage has been treated, a residual semi-solid ‘sludge’ is left which requires further treatment. The sludge can be digested by anaerobic bacteria to produce fertiliser which can then be used in agriculture.
Sequential test: This is a test employed by the Planning Authority to ensure new development takes place is the areas with the lowest risk of flooding. This approach means that development will not be allowed or allocated in any areas where there is another area at a lower flood risk (and is appropriate for that development). As statutory consultees, the Environment Agency will inform any decisions on planning applications in relation to flooding.
Sharp sand and gravel: A coarse sand and gravel suitable for use in making concrete.
Site allocations: Specific sites identified for minerals and waste activities in the Plan where there are viable opportunities, have the support of landowners and are likely to be acceptable in planning terms.
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI): A national designation for an area of special interest because of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features, selected by Natural England and notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Sludge: Sludge originates from the process of treatment of waste water.
Soft sand: Fine sand suitable for use in such products as mortar, asphalt and plaster.
Source Protection Zone (SPZ): Geographical areas defined by the Environment Agency and used to protect sources of groundwater abstraction.
South East Waste Planning Advisory Group (SEWPAG): SEWPAG is the grouping of waste planning officers and advisors which exists to help waste planning authorities in the area to effectively fulfil the Duty to Cooperate on strategic issues enshrined in the Localism Act, and specifically to give effect to the Government’s stated intention to replace the responsibilities of the former Regional Technical Advisory Bodies.
Spatial Strategy: Outlines the approach that will be taken through the Central and Eastern Berkshire – Joint Minerals & Waste Plan to critical minerals and waste issues. It sets the context for the Plan's policies.
Special Area of Conservation (SAC): Areas which have been given special protection under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. They provide increased protection to a variety of wild animals, plants and habitats and are a vital part of global efforts to conserve the world’s biodiversity.
Special Protection Area (SPA): An area of importance for the habitats of certain rare or vulnerable categories of birds or for regularly occurring migratory bird species, required to be designated for protection by member states under the European Community Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Specific local requirement: In relation to Policy M4 (Locations for sand and gravel extraction) a specific local requirement relates to a minerals development which will be dedicated to serving a specific need, as opposed to contributing to strategic capacity. This may include for use in local projects which will involve mineral extraction and then its direct use in the construction phase of the project.
Statement of Community Involvement (SCI): A document which sets out the standards the Planning Authority intends to achieve when involving the community in preparing Local Development Documents, or when making a significant development control decision. It also sets out how the Authority intends to achieve these standards.
Statutory consultee: These are organisations and public bodies who are required to be consulted concerning specific issues relating to planning applications and help inform any decision made by the planning authority.
‘Stepping Stones’: Pockets of habitat that, while not necessarily connected, facilitate the movement of species across otherwise inhospitable landscapes.
Sterilisation: When a change of use, or the development, of land prevents possible mineral exploitation in the foreseeable future.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): A system of incorporating environmental considerations into policies, plans, programmes and part of European Union Policy. It is intended to highlight environmental issues during decision-making about strategic documents such as plans, programmes and strategies. The SEA identifies the significant environmental effects that are likely to result from implementing the plan or alternative approaches to the plan.
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA): An assessment of the potential flood risk such as from groundwater and fluvial floods.
Strategic Road Network: The SRN is made up of motorways and trunk roads, the most significant ‘A’ roads. The SRN is managed by Highways England. All other roads in England are managed by local and regional authorities.
Subsidence: Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward (in relation to Policy DM9 Protecting Health, Safety and Amenity). This may cause uneven settlement leading to subsidence at the surface.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA): In United Kingdom planning law, an appraisal of the economic, environmental, and social effects of a plan from the outset of the preparation process, to allow decisions that are compatible with sustainable development.
Sustainable development: Sustainable development refers to a mode of human development in which resource use aims to meet human needs while ensuring the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): These are urban design concepts which are adopted to deal with increased surface water in urban areas by mimicking the normal water cycle in natural landscapes. This is opposed to more traditional methods which just involved re-routing surface water to watercourses. Techniques utilised in SuDS include facilitating increased water infiltration into the earth as well as increased evaporation of surface water and transpiration from vegetation (collectively called evapotranspiration) to decrease the amount of surface water run-off.
Thermal treatment: Incineration and other high-temperature waste-treatment systems.
Tonnes per annum (tpa): Acronym.
Townscape: The appearance of a town or city; an urban scene.
Treatment: This is a broad term which refers to recovery or disposal operations, including preparation prior to recovery or disposal. This includes the physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes, including sorting (e.g. waste transfer), that change the characteristics of the waste in order to reduce its volumes or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery.
Urban areas: An area characterised by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations.
Use Classes: The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as Use Classes. This includes B1 (Business), B2 (General Industrial) and B8 (Storage or Distribution).
Visual impact: The perceived negative effect that the appearance of minerals and waste developments can have on nearby communities.
Void capacity: Available capacity for waste at a landfill/ land raising site.
Waste arisings: Waste generated within a specified area.
Waste Hierarchy: The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste. The revised Waste Framework Directive introduces a changed hierarchy of options for managing waste. It gives top priority to preventing waste. When waste is created, it gives priority to preparing it for re-use, followed by recycling, then other recovery such as energy recovery, and finally disposal (for example landfill).
Waste Planning Authority (WPA): The local planning authorities responsible for waste planning. In the Plan area, The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, and Wokingham Borough Council are waste planning authorities.
Waste Transfer Station (WTS): A location where waste can be temporarily stored, separated and bulked after being dropped off by domestic waste-collection lorries and before being carried off by larger vehicles for subsequent treatment or ultimate disposal.
Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW): A facility where sewage volumes are reduced by de-watering and aerobic and anaerobic biological treatment.
Wharf: A landing place or pier where ships or barges may tie up and load or unload.
Zero waste: A term adopted to describe a culture in which all waste is seen as a resource having a value.