Sustain Wiltshire: Encouraging news!

Last week, we flagged a very important date for the future of Sustain Wiltshire – the day when we were due to meet the Environment Agency (EA) to discuss the advanced pre-application process for the Sustain Super-Midden.

For the team at Sustain Wiltshire, there was a significant amount of apprehension, largely due to the innovative nature of the Super-Midden, which has the potential to make it a

challenging case for the EA to assess and provide guidance on.

When you consider that the Sustain Super-Midden is designed to transform landfill into one of most climate-friendly methods of waste disposal – generating heat, energy, and affordable fruit and vegetables for local communities – it’s easy to understand how this could be hard to categorise.

Despite our concerns – and much to our delight – the meeting went well. The EA team provided clear advice on the permitting route and were both supportive and enthusiastic, advising us that the Sustain Super-Midden fits well with Government ambitions.

Once again, the EA has surprised us, demonstrating bravery and a desire to support innovative initiatives that are designed to provide a more sustainable future for all.

We hope that this positive response is echoed next Tuesday (11th February) when we meet with the Wiltshire Council planning officer for a site visit.

If only we could report such positive progress on all fronts.

Sadly, our frustration with the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (CIC) continues. It appears that our application has disappeared into a vast black hole, with no means of contacting the appointed officer dealing with our application.

Frustrated, we contacted Companies House for guidance, only to be told that this was not unusual for CIC applications that are passed on to the CIC Regulator.

Rather damningly, they informed us that all regulator officers appointed to deal with CIC applications work from home, which means that communication often breaks down. Their only guidance was to go back to square one and make a new application in the hope that this does not disappear into the void once more.

A prime example of bureaucratic ineptitude and inefficiency, this only reinforces our belief that changes need to be made to the ‘system’ for the greater good. For now, with little other choice, we will make a new application.

So, we take the rough with the smooth, but remain resilient in the interest of making change for the better.

Until next time…

Nick Ash