§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of chemical grade limestone reserves there are in England and Wales within national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
§ Mr. FoxInformation about total reserves of particular grades of limestone is not available. However, chemically-78W pure limestone deposits occur principally in the carboniferous limestone series, which outcrops in England and Wales mainly within national parks or areas of outstanding natural beauty. The Institute of Geological Sciences has been undertaking an evaluation of deposits in parts of the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales national parks.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of total discoveries of (a) ferrous metals and (b) non-ferrous metals including rare earths, lies within national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
§ Mr. FoxThere is no information available about total discoveries of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Discoveries within national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty include lead (Peak District), wolfram (Lake District and Cornwall), tin (Dartmoor and Cornwall), copper (Snowdonia, Anglesey and Cornwall), and iron (Cotswolds), but none of these metals is found exclusively in such areas. I am not aware of any discoveries of rare earths within national parks or areas of outstanding natural beauty.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether there are any coal mines within national parks; what is the extent of coal measures in these areas.
§ Mr. FoxI am not aware of any coal mines within national parks. There are very limited occurrences of carboniferous coal measures within the Peak District and Brecon Beacons national parks, and jurassic coal measures within the North York Moors national park were worked in the Middle Ages.