§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the consultation with 75W the members of the Cardiff bay coalition about proposals to acquire suitable land for the creation of wetlands in the Severn estuary to compensate for the loss of the Cardiff bay site of special scientific interest; and if all members of the coalition were consulted. [29254]
§ Mr. RedwoodThis is an operational matter for the corporation and I have asked the chief executive to reply.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made on the monitoring exercise of United Kingdom populations of the dunlin and redshank and their use of estuarine mud flat habitat as part of the compensatory measures agreed with the European Commission in respect of the Cardiff bay barrage project. [29232]
§ Mr. RedwoodThe United Kingdom population of dunlin and redshank are constantly monitored under programmes coordinated by the wetland bird surveys which are endorsed by the Government. Good progress is being made by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology on its long-term study on wading birds and their use of estuarine mud flats.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much is remaining of the money allocated for the creation of wetland habitat in the Severn to compensate for the loss of the Cardiff bay SSSI; and if he will report progress on the acquisition of suitable coastal land and mud flats for this purpose. [29233]
§ Mr. RedwoodAbout £350,000 has been incurred on expenditure related to the bird compensation/mitigation measures for the loss of the Cardiff hay habitat out of the £5.7 million provision. On progress I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 22 May 1995, column461.