§ Lord KENNETasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the figure of 1 km diameter for gas clouds over land, used in relation to permissions at Canvey Island, applies 1205WA also to Braefoot Bay; or whether this area more resembles a sea area where downwind clouds would be expected to exceed 1 km.
The Earl of GOWRIEThe chairman of the Health and Safety Commission has informed me that a figure of 1 kilometre for gas clouds over land did not form the basis of the advice to the local planning authority at Canvey Island. The recommendation made to Castle Point District Council in response to their request for advice on further housing development on Canvey Island was based on the view that it would be prudent not to permit further housing development within a 1 kilometre radius around the potentially hazardous installations there, because experience suggests that the worst effects of a flammable gas cloud explosion would be unlikely to extend beyond such a radius.