§ Sir Trevor SkeetTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the limitations imposed by the planning system on the supply of minerals from quarries.
§ Mr. TrippierIf the mineral operator has been granted a planning permission and does not subsequently contravene any planning conditions attached to that consent, the minerals may be worked and sold without further statutory constraint. It is not the Government's policy to intervene in these arrangements.
It is generally the case that purchasers of minerals may seek to obtain the supplies they need, from whatever source they so choose, without the need to consider any further statutory provision. However, public bodies do have a duty under section 11 of the Countryside Act, 1968, to have regard to the desirability of conserving the natural beauty and amenity of the countryside in exercising their functions relating to land.