HC Deb 09 May 1995 vol 259 c421W
Mr. Betts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he or any of his Ministers gave approval to the agreement between Sheffield development corporation and Budge which split responsibility for the provision of the infrastructure for an airport at Tinsley, Sheffield, and the opencasting of the Tinsley site; [22705]

(2) if he will undertake a public inquiry into the agreement between Sheffield development corporation and Budge, in relation to the profit accruing to RJB Mining from opencasting at Tinsley, Sheffield, and the liquidation of A. F. Budge and the effect on the infrastructure for an airport; [22711]

(3) what involvement and knowledge he and his Department had about the agreement reached between Sheffield development corporation and Budge which divided responsibility for providing the infrastructure for an airport at Tinsley, Sheffield, and the authority for operating the site. [22713]

Sir Paul Beresford

There was never a joint agreement covering coal extraction and the construction of an airport at Tinsley. Coal extraction was subject to an agreement between A. F. Budge (Mining) Ltd. and British Coal Opencast and operated from 1989.

In 1990, Ministers in my Department gave approval to the sale of land by Sheffield development corporation to A. F. Budge (Mining) Ltd. for the construction of an airport under a development agreement with the corporation.

Ministers were not involved in the later transfer of this agreement from A. F. Budge (Mining) Ltd. to Sheffield Airport Ltd. a subsidiary of the A. F. Budge parent group. Sheffield development corporation informed my Department of the proposed transfer but no further approval was necessary from my Department as the parent company guarantee was to remain in place.

We have no plans for a public inquiry.