§ Mr. HealeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he proposes to publish revised planning guidance for opencast coal mining. [79770]
§ Mr. CabornWe have published revised Mineral Planning Guidance on Coal Mining and Colliery Spoil Disposal today. This meets the major concerns expressed in the 10 Point Plan for Opencast Coal issued before the General Election and firmly puts the interests of protecting the environment and local communities first.
The revised guidance takes account of our pre-election commitments, the final conclusions of the Energy review published in October 1998 and the responses to the draft guidance issued for public consultation in October 1998.
The guidance will ensure that planning permission for opencast coal mining is only given where the development is environmentally acceptable or provides over-riding local or community benefits. If neither of these requirements is met, there should be a presumption against opencast coal.