§ 8. Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will call in the planning application to mine coal in the Vale of Belvoir.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Kenneth Marks)No such planning application has yet been made. If one is made, we will consider the appropriate action.
§ Mr. FarrIs the hon. Gentleman aware that coal is just as much a national asset inside the ground as out of it? Before deciding to extract coal from the Vale of Belvoir, will he take into account the availability, cost and efficiency of alternative forms of energy?
§ Mr. MarksI am sure that the whole question of the energy gap, which Ministers in the Department of Energy have 435 answered, concerns not only the Department of Energy but all of us. My right hon. Friend and I will consider all the environmental aspects when this matter is being considered.
§ Mr. Ronald AtkinsIs my hon. Friend aware that the land that would be lost in this undertaking would be minimal compared with the 50,000 acres that are lost every year to industrial undertakings and roads without any complaint from Conservative Members? Does he realise that the saving of derelict land in town centres and old industrial areas would more than make up for any loss in the Vale of Belvoir?
§ Mr. MarksI am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. My Department cannot consider this matter until the local authority has considered it. I feel that the local authority and the local people should have an opportunity to examine the application before anything comes to my Department.