§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the sites of prospective opencast mining which as yet do not have planning permission but have been included in the reserves listed in the portfolios of the proposed regional coal companies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarI have been asked to reply.
On privatisation, regional coal companies will acquire exploration licences, conditional operating licences and options for leases in relation to the coal at portfolios of prospective opencast sites.
Prospective opencast sites are at different stages in the process of assembling the interests and rights in and over land and of obtaining planning and other consents, all of which are necessary for the extraction of coal. The grant of planning consents will remain a matter for the planning authorities.
A list of those prospective sites which have, as yet, obtained no planning permission, by Regional Coal Company, has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any of the reserves of prospective opencast sites which have previously been the subject of unsuccessful planning applications for opencast mining have been included in the portfolios of the proposed regional local companies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarI have been asked to reply.
A number of the prospective opencast sites included in the portfolios of the regional coal companies have, in the past, been the subject of unsuccessful planning applications. It has, however, been made abundantly clear throughout the sales process that the grant of any planning consents in the future will remain a matter for the planning authorities.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what calculation his Department has made of the effect on the purchase price of regional coal companies of the inclusion of possible but unapproved sites for opencast coal mining; and what is the difference between the purchase price of possible, but unapproved, sites and that of approved or working sites on a cost per tonnage basis.
§ Mr. EggarI have been asked to reply.
In submitting bids for regional coal companies, prequalifiers for the sale of British Coal's mining activities were assessing the overall value of a portfolio of assets, including prospective opencast mining sites. Bidders were not asked to provide details of their bids on 153W a site-by-site basis, and no such assessment has been made by my Department.