DUMPING OF WASTE (CONTROL) (Hansard, 19 December 1979)

§ Mr. Raymond Ellis (Derbyshire, North-East)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require local authorities to consult parish councils prior to the dumping of toxic and/or hazardous waste. Is it not strange that when it is proposed to establish a gipsy site the parish council involved has the right to object? Is it not strange that when it is intended to sink a coal mine at Belvoir the parish council concerned has a right to object? Likewise, is it not strange that local councils have a right to object to the starting of a quarry or open-cast mining, the building of airports, motorways, and such simple measures as housing development, but that when it comes to the infinitely more dangerous practice of dumping toxic waste, local authorities not only do not have the right to object but do not even have the right to know?

I cite as an example the experiences in North-East Derbyshire, in and around the small village of Morton. This was once a thriving coal mining area. The mine was worked out and permission was granted to mine the remaining coal by open-cast methods. Instructions were given with the planning permission that within a certain period the ground should be sealed and restored to agriculture. Only a certain amount of the ground could be open at any time.

The conditions of that planning permission were broken time and again. Eventually there was a hole in the ground that would have held the entire Houses of Parliament 10 times over—and they would have been lost without trace. On top of that indignity we discovered that licence had been granted to dump toxic poisons without anybody in the local authorities being given any information. The shroud of M15 secrecy that surrounds that operation makes my constituents alarmed, anxious and angry.

Almost daily at Morton one can see dead wildlife, dead herons and dead household pets, such as cats and dogs. Hon. Members will understand the feelings of my constituents.

In an attempt to clarify the situation and to placate fears, last week I tabled a dozen or so questions to the Minister so that a reply could be given to the 646 questions of my constituents. However, the answers to the questions did not help. For instance, I asked whether any toxic waste or hazardous poisons were being imported, to be dumped in my constituency. The Minister replied that there was no restriction on the origin—only on the type.

In recent months I monitored entry to the site of laden lorries that travelled from as far a field as Swansea, Preston, Port Talbot and Humberside, which are all located in or near coastal areas. My constituents tell me that North-East Derbyshire has become the toxic dustbin for the entire world. The Minister does not know—but somebody knows.

That is why I now seek to put on the statute book legislation that will at least clear the air for future occasions. It is too late for Morton to be saved, because by the time the measure is on the statute book the devil's cauldron there will be brimming over.

I am worried, because there were six clear-water streams and extensive coal mines in the area. When we try to seal off the area we shall discover a Pandora's box. It is my intention to assist other areas and to give parish councils the right to know what is going on at the bottom of their gardens.

At the moment county authorities can fill any hole in the ground without prior leave or consultation. Although the Merseyside area is level ground, permission was given to store toxic waste there.

In seeking permission to present a Bill to give parish councils the right to consultation prior to the dumping of toxic poisons within their areas, I refer to another answer that I received from the Minister to a question about a factory explosion that occurred a few years ago. It took place at a chemical factory in a constituency close to mine. Hon. Members may have heard of a recent similar occurence in Italy, when a poisonous gas cloud led to the evacuation of the affected area. Fortunately, on this occasion at the Coalite works at Bolsover there was no escape of poison gas into the outside air stream. However, there were fatal accidents. The explosion created dioxin poison similar to that in Italy. The entire factory walls and structures were so impregnated with the poison that the factory had to be demolished, 647 dismantled and dumped. I asked the Minister whether that factory poison had been dumped at Morton. He said that he did not know.

I seek a small exercise in open government. I hope to obtain permission from the House to present a Bill to give parish councils the right to consultation prior to the dumping of toxic poisons. I am convinced that I am making a real and unambiguous attempt to return the powers of consultation to the parish councils at the grass roots.