§ 11. Mr. BatisteTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning applications for opencast mining affecting the green belt have been made in the last six months.
§ Sir Paul BeresfordWe do not hold this information, but my hon. Friend may be interested to know that our planning guidelines make clear that opencast coal mining should be allowed only where the development can be carried out in an environmentally acceptable way or where there are overriding benefits.
§ Mr. BatisteWill my hon. Friend consider collecting such information? If he does, he will become aware that there has, during the past year, been a surge in applications for opencasting on green field sites within the green belt in Leeds and elsewhere in the country? If environmental acceptability is rightly to be the key test, will he or my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State come to visit Garforth in my constituency to see exactly how unsuitable those applications are?
§ Sir Paul BeresfordI understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has accepted an invitation to visit. As regards the information, I am willing to look into the possibility of providing it as soon as is reasonable.
§ Mr. EnrightDoes the Minister further agree that in a constituency such as mine—which had huge numbers of deep-mined pits until very recently—it is an affront that, during the past six months, applications have been made for opencast mining in the very small pieces of genuine countryside which we have? Will he make a presumption against opencast mining in such cases, as we have suffered enough from mining waste?
§ Sir Paul BeresfordIt is not an affront to apply. With the new regulations and the new attitude, there must be an environmentally-oriented balance. Nevertheless, we must accept that minerals can only be worked where they exist.