§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy that fresh planning applications by the new mining companies for opencast coal mines on sites which the local planning authority has previously rejected will not be entertained and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Paul BeresfordNo. Each case must be considered on its merits. Where a development plan is material to the proposal, application must be determined in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. However, section 70A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as inserted by section 17 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, provides that a local planning authority may decline to determine an application if within the period of two years ending with the date on which the application is received the Secretary of State has refused a similar application referred to him under section 77 of the 1990 Act or has dismissed an appeal against the refusal of a similar application; and there has been no significant change since the decision in the development plan, so far as it is relevant, or in any other material considerations.