§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much land has been affected by opencast mining in the last 10 years; how much of such land was green field and how much despoiled or derelict; and of the despoiled or derelict land, how much was subsequently returned to useful purposes.
§ Mr. BaldryThis information is not held centrally. According to statistics compiled by the County Planning Officers Society's committee No. 3, however, during the last four years 6,490 hectares of land received planning permission for opencasting in England, of which 1,309 hectares was derelict. The equivalent figures for Scotland and Wales are respectively 2,525 hectares of which 563 was derelict and 635 hectares, of which 364 was derelict. The 1988 minerals survey shows that between 1982 and 1984 4,041 hectares of land granted permission for opencasting was reclaimed satisfactorily and only 39 hectares reclaimed unsatisfactorily. All permissions for opencasting carry a requirement fully to restore the land.