HC Deb 23 June 1976 vol 913 cc1592-3
17. Mr. Adley

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that he, or adjacent local authorities, possess adequate planning powers to control offshore developments which can have a noticeable effect on the relevant local environment; and if he will make a statement on recent proposals involving the parking of oil rigs in estuaries and other territorial waters.

Mr. Guy Barnett

I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Ross) on 8th June.

Mr. Adley

There is a degree of muddle about the powers possessed by the Government and local authorities in territorial waters, in different stretches of those waters, and at different distances from the shore. Is the Minister aware that this muddle can be exploited for commercial ends by, for instance, people like those who wanted to park an oil rig in the Solent? Will he look at the Coast Protection Act 1949 to see whether there is any possibility of an amendment to enable it to take account of environmental issues?

Mr. Barnett

I do not think that that Act is involved in this matter. My understanding of the situation is that the mooring of an oil rig between the three-mile limit and the mean high-tide mark is a matter for the Crown Estate Commissioners, who are entitled to take environmental factors into account, and the local planning authority concerned can contact them about that. The local planning authority can also exercise planning powers where the mooring of a rig involves construction over land. Anything on the shore, therefore, very often falls within the purview of a local planning authority. I am not at the moment aware of the muddle that the hon. Member refers to. I recognise that this is a new kind of situation. If the hon. Member has any evidence from his constituency or elsewhere I shall be glad to consider it.

Sir W. Elliott

Is the Minister aware that the parking of oil rigs in need of service or repair in the River Tyne would be most welcome, and might help to relieve the worst unemployment we have known in the North-East since the 1930s?

Mr. Barnett

I shall bear that in mind.