§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the extension of china clay quarrying in Dartmoor is an exceptional circumstance in the sense intended by his own guidance; and what examination of proposals for such quarrying he has conducted. [113573]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWhether a planning application for an extension of china clay quarrying in Dartmoor comprises an 'exceptional circumstance', as explained in paragraph 4.5 of Planning Policy Guidance Note 7—The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development, would depend upon the scale, nature and individual circumstances of that proposal.
So far as I am aware, no applications have recently been submitted for new or extended china clay quarrying. If they had, the Dartmoor National Park Authority would be responsible for determining them. The Secretary of State would only examine such an application if he called it in for his own determination or if it came before him on appeal.
I am, however, aware of several applications that have been submitted to both the National Park Authority and to Devon County Council under the old minerals planning permission (OMP) review provisions of the Environment Act 1995. These are for the determination of modern operating and restoration conditions for existing china 675W clay planning permissions within and adjoining the Dartmoor National Park, and not extensions of existing quarrying operations. The local authorities for areas within which these are located are responsible for determining them. As these applications may come before the Secretary of State on appeal, he is unable to comment on their merits.