§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the sites of archaeological interest in Wales which have been threatened by development schemes; and which of these he has given directions to safeguard.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThere are many sites of varying degrees of archaeological interest in Wales, not all of which have been scheduled by my right hon. Friend. However, where scheduled ancient monuments are concerned—that is sites designated as being of national importance and listed accordingly — a statutory procedure known as "scheduled monument consent" operates and approval is necessary prior to any works being carried out which might destroy, damage or otherwise affect such monuments.
614WSince applications for such consent were first received in 1982, consent has been sought for development purposes on 32 occasions. In 24 cases approval was given subject to conditions designed to either ensure the preservation of the monument or to allow an excavation or watching brief to be carried out for recording purposes. In eight cases consent was refused or the works otherwise averted.
A list of these cases is as follows: