§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is his policy on the award of planning permissions for the extraction of sand and gravel in green belt areas.
§ Mr. SkeffingtonPlanning applications are normally dealt with by the local planning authority in the first instance. Applications to work minerals in green belt areas have to be considered on their merits, having regard to production needs, to the scale of extraction proposed and to amenity, agricultural and other considerations.
§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) if he will issue a circular to local authorities giving advice on the restoration of worked-out sand and gravel pits to useful purposes; and if he will introduce legislation to make enforceable any conditions providing for restoration which are attached to the award of planning permissions;
(2) if he will conduct a review of worked-out sand and gravel pits in the Home Counties area, and consult with the local authorities concerned on the means whereby, in future, any such facilities might be made available for recreational purposes for the public as a whole, without prejudice to existing rights of sports clubs.
§ Mr. SkeffingtonMy right hon. Friend has recently set in train the first three of a series of working parties under local authority chairmanship to study various aspects of sand and gravel production in South-East England. The industry and Government Departments will be 163W associated with this work, which will include consideration of the restoration of worked-out gravel pits or the best way of using them for recreational and other purposes. Local authorities already have statutory powers to enforce planning conditions, and I am not aware that further legislation for that purpose is required.
§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will commission a study by the Natural Environmental Research Council on the future national requirements for sand and gravel, the sources from which it is to be obtained, including the Continental Shelf, and the effect on the environment of alternative policies.
§ Mr. SkeffingtonAssessing the national need for sand and gravel and production from the Continental Shelf is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Public Buildings and Works. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government has already commissioned from the Institute of Geological Sciences a survey of potential deposits in East Anglia. He has also set in train a review of reserves in South-East England, and this review will in due course be extended to other areas. Environmental considerations will be taken into account throughout.