§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will confirm that large areas of North Moor on the Somerset Levels has been ploughed this year, that such action has destroyed much of the scientific importance of the area, and whether they will confirm that North Moor was identified by the Somerset County Council and the Nature Convervancy Council as an "area of exceptional wildlife interest" in the Somerset Moors and Levels Plan.
§ The Earl of AvonI am advised by the NCC that there has been some ploughing and re-seeding on parts of North Moor during 1982 but that this should have minimal effect on the scientific interest of the area.
I understand that North Moor was identified by the Nature Convervancy Council as an "area of exceptional wildlife interest" and was described as such in the Somerset levels and Moors Consultative Plan issued by the County Council in May 1982 on a confidential basis to a limited number of organisations and persons with an interest in the area.