§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation requiring the submission of an independent environmental impact report before local planning authorities, or his Department, determine their decision in respect of planning applications for the extraction of aggregates and other minerals and the disposal, by tipping, of household waste and other rubbish.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988, which implemented directive 85/337/EEC, require planning applications for the extraction of sand and gravel and other minerals and for the disposal of household and other non-toxic waste to be accompanied by an environmental statement if the proposed development is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location. In such cases, planning permission may not be granted unless the environmental statement and representations on it from statutory consultees and the public have first been taken into consideration.