§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of appeals for opencast sites his Department has granted since 1980 to British Coal and private companies, the names of the companies, and the location of the sites.
§ Mr. YeoThe information requested is available only in respect of decisions issued since 1 April 1987. The Department's records show that the number of planning appeals granted for opencast sites in each financial year were as follows: 421W
Planning Authority 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 11991 Barnsley — — 1 — — Bolton 1 — — — — Derbyshire 2 2 2 2 — County Durham 3 3 3 3 4 Gateshead — — — 1 — Huntingdon — — — 1 — Lancashire — 1 — — — Leeds — — 1 — — Norfolk — — 1 — — North Tyneside — — — 1 Northumberland 1 1 — 1 1 Staffordshire — 1 — — — Wakefield — — — — 2 Total 7 8 8 9 7 1 1 April 1991–30 November 1991 Details of companies involved and the precise location of each site are not immediately available. I will write to the hon. Member when the information has been collected.