NOTIFICATION OF BEGINNING AND ENDING OF TIPPING OPERATIONS (Hansard, 11 March 1969)

§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Power (Mr. Reginald Freeson)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree—[Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We want to hear which Amendment we are agreeing with.

§ Mr. Freeson
I am moving, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

§ Mr. Speaker
I suggest that we discuss with it Lords Amendment No. 2, in page 4, line 32, leave out subsection (3).

§ Mr. Freeson
When the Bill was reported to the House on 21st January, my right hon. Friend moved a new Clause dealing with the notification of the beginning and ending of tipping operations. This was agreed to and it became Clause 4 of the Bill as it left this House. It gave discretion to the inspector for the district to permit the resumption of tipping on a closed tip from a mine or quarry of a prescribed class or description within a shorter period than the specified 30 days. It did not—[Interruption]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. It is difficult to conduct the business of the House against a background of noise.

§ Mr. Freeson
Thank you. Mr. Speaker.
It did not, however, give this discretion in the case of tipping on a new site where tipping could not begin until the full 30 days' notice had expired.
My right hon. Friend explained that, before tipping could begin on such a site, planning permission had to be obtained and any site investigations required by regulations which he would make under Clause 1(2) carried out. These processes would take time. My right hon. Friend went on to say: Prudent mine and quarry owners will, therefore, plan in advance and have tipping sites in reserve. There will be nothing to stop owners giving notice to the inspector for the district of their intention to use the sites for tipping well before they are expected to be needed. There is thus no need for inspectors to have power to allow tipping to begin on a new site within 30 days, nor would it be desirable for them to have such a power."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 21st January 1969; vol. 776, c. 390.] As a result of representations made in another place, we considered this matter and came to the conclusion that, on balance, there would be some advantage in extending inspectors' discretion to cover tipping on new sites. There may well be circumstances in which the inspector can satisfy himself that tipping could safely begin on a new site within the 30 days required by the Clause and where there might be something to be gained thereby. This provides extra flexibility and I commend the Amendment to the House.

§ Mr. David Gibson-Watt (Hereford)
This Amendment, which was moved by Lord Aberdare in another place, and sensibly accepted by the Government, marks another stage in the improvement of the Bill. As originally produced by the Government this Clause was inadequate. The Government accepted our Amendment which gives 30 days as the period of notice to be given to the inspectorate under Clause 4(1) for the starting of tipping on premises which before the operations began were not the site of a tip under Part I and under Clause 4(3) for closed tips.
This was an improvement, but the present Amendment amalgamates the two and stipulates that 30 days' notice must be given to the inspectorate, or such 1307 shorter period as the inspector may permit, for starting or resuming tipping in a bare area or a closed tip under Part I. It strengthens the hand of the inspectorate, and, therefore, the Bill. We on this side of the House are greatly in favour of doing that. Obviously, the art of précis has been well mastered in another place, and it makes the Bill considerably shorter. We are happy to agree that the Bill has been further improved and, on this side of the House, we agree with the Lords.