§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made by the Peat Working Group. [100993]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Peat Working Group, which has been reviewing the adequacy of existing planning policies and guidance on the extraction and use of peat since 1997, has published a report of its work today.
I am grateful to the Peat Working Group for providing this factual assessment of the complex and wide-ranging issues surrounding peat extraction and the use of growing media in horticulture and gardening.
This Government are committed to ensuring that there is adequate protection for our habitats and wildlife. We are already looking very carefully at the risk of damage caused by peat extraction to sites of national and international importance.
The group considers that existing Government policy is sufficient to safeguard areas of existing conservation or archaeological value from future proposals for peat working sites. But a number of active sites granted planning permission before their conservation value was recognised continue to be worked, despite their designation or identification as sites of national or international importance.
We are currently looking at options for bringing forward reviews of consents on Natura 2000 sites. In addition, we have also asked English Nature to look closely at the effects of all planning permissions, not just those affecting peat bogs, on sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs).
132WHowever, it is clear from the group's work that despite continuing improvements in the quality and marketing of alternatives, there continues to be a strong demand for peat as a growing medium, particularly by the amateur gardener and the professional horticulture sector. I welcome the suggestions made by the working group about how sales of alternative materials for growing plants could be increased, and we shall now be considering how to take this forward.
A copy of the report has been placed in the House of Commons Library.