§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider holding centrally, by county or region, records of contractors wishing to develop opencast mining who have submitted planning applications; and if he will make a statement. [39067]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordLocal planning authorities, usually the district or borough council, are statutorily required to maintain records of all minerals planning applications including those for opencast mining. The minerals planning authorities, usually the county council, are also advised by Government to maintain a similar register. To hold all this information centrally or regionally would be a needless duplication of effort.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning applications his Department has received submitted by contractors in respect of opencast mining in(a) Oxfordshire and (b) its neighbouring countries; and if he will make a statement. [39066]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment does not receive planning applications. However, the requested information can be obtained from the local planning authorities which have a statutory responsibility to maintain a public register of all planning applications that they receive.