§ Lord Ross of Newportasked Her Majesty's Government:
What advice is available to local planning authorities faced with applications to construct tyre burning and power generating plants and whether such advice should be co-ordinated into a national policy.
§ Baroness BlatchMy honourable Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside announced in another place on 26th February that the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Scotland and Wales were publishing that day a series of guidance notes covering all the processes which are to be prescribed for local authority pollution control under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 with effect from 1st April this year. The note on tyre burning should help local planning authorities in determining planning applications for plant of that kind.
Processes where the net rated thermal input exceeds 3mW will be subject to integrated pollution control by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution with effect from 1st April 1992, and the Chief Inspector's guidance to his inspectors later this year will be published and available for the information of local planning authorities.
Planning applications for tyre burning and power generating plants should be determined by local planning authorities having regard to the provisions of the development plan, where relevant, and taking account of all other material planning considerations. Environmental assessment is required for thermal power stations which are likely to have significant effects upon the environment. General advice about environmental assessment is contained in Department of the Environment Circular 15/88, Environmental Assessment. Any necessary further policy guidance will be included in a planning policy guidance note on renewable energy sources which is now in preparation.