§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the effects of subsidence on housing in mining areas caused by mining operations in the last 10 years; what action his Department has taken to limit the effects of subsidence on housing in mining areas caused by mining operations; and how many letters he has received concerning subsidence on housing in mining areas. [19835]
§ Sir Paul Beresford[holding answer 19 April 1995]: My Department has carried out a number of general assessments of mining subsidence in the last 10 to 15 years under the planning research programme and derelict land grant. The Review of mining instability in Great Britain, published in 1992, gave a broad general picture of the extent of mining in Great Britain and its effects on land use and development; regional, technical and case study reports provide a concise summary of the mining and mining-related subsidence events and the methods of investigation, monitoring and remedial measures that are available. In addition, specific assessments have been 328W made in a number of areas such as the black country, the Wrekin district of Shropshire, south Wales and Norwich.
Derelict land grant has also been used to fund investigations and remedial measures, principally the limestone mines of the black country but also in the sand mines in West Yorkshire and Surrey, chalk mines in Norwich, Reading and Bury St. Edmunds, metal mines in Cornwall and Shropshire, salt mines in Cheshire and stone mines in Bath.
Planning guidance issued in 1990 advised local planning authorities and developers of the need to take account of the possibility of subsidence when considering all development in past, present and future mining areas.
There is no central record of the number of letters received concerning subsidence on housing in mining areas.