Interim Development Orders (Hansard, 21 February 1991)

§ Sir George Young

Yes. The Government believe that it is inequitable that the extent and terms of these permissions, which have been in existence for close to 50 years, are not recorded and that householders and others may have been disadvantaged by this lack of knowledge.

The Government intend, therefore, to table amendments during the passage of the Planning and Compensation Bill to provide that, unless the holder of an IDO permission applies to the appropriate mineral planning authority within four months of the date of the commencement of the provisions for the permission to be registered, the permission will cease to have effect. My Department will consult on the detail of what we have in mind, including the appropriate time period for applications to be submitted.

The Government recognise that registration in itself will not deal with the problems of the lack of conditions attached to such permissions. Residential and other development may have been built on or near IDO permission areas; similarly, parts of IDO sites may have been designated as sites of special scientific interest or of other environmental importance—without knowledge of the fact that the permission existed or the terms of the conditions attached to it. The Government are therefore considering whether to require that applications for registration of IDO permissions are accompanied by schemes of operating, restoration and, where appropriate, 207W aftercare conditions for the approval of the mineral planning authority. The Government take the view that it would be sensible to use the opportunity of registration to apply conditions and believe that responsible operators would share that view. Applicants would be able to appeal to the Secretary of State against refusal or the imposition of unreasonable conditions by the authority. My Department will be issuing today a short consultation paper on these proposals, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House, and will consider the response before taking a firm decision. The question of the impact of the proposals on the compensation rights of operators would be covered in the consultation exercise.

The Government have also considered carefully whether it would be right to take statutory measures now to deal with the problems of unworked land and IDO permission boundaries. Although we fully appreciate the strength of feelings on this issue and the legitimate concerns expressed, we are not convinced that it would be right to expropriate legitimate mineral working rights without a detailed examination of all the implications and full and considered consultation on any proposed changes.

My Department will therefore look at these issues very closely in its comprehensive review of the existing powers available to mineral planning authorities for dealing with inadequate permissions and we shall be considering whether we can reach early conclusions on the compensation aspects. In the meantime, I intend to invite the industry, in the context of agreeing a scheme of operating and restoration conditions with the mineral planning authority, to discuss an adjustment to the boundaries of their rights where appropriate.

These proposals are subject to consultation with representatives of the local authorities, environmental groups, the industry and land-owners. They aim to provide the right balance between the needs of the country for a secure and effective supply of minerals, together with information about where these sites are worked and ensuring that the minerals are extracted in an environmentally sensitive way. As we made clear in the Environment White Paper it is necessary to strike a careful balance between the interests of amenity and the need to exploit the resource. Mineral operators must take account of best environmental practice and aim to be good neighbours. I am aware that increasingly the industry accepts its responsibility to work sites in an environmentally sensitive manner and to restore land once working has ceased.