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Derelict Land

Volume 832: debated on Wednesday 8 March 1972

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38.

asked the Secretary for the Environment if he will undertake a survey of derelict land which will include land areas still in active use and which do not have adequate restorative conditions attached to that use.

An extended form of derelict land survey, including current mineral workings, is under consideration in consultation with the local authority associations. My right hon. Friend is also considering representations made by the associations as to the enforcement of after-treatment conditions attached to planning permissions for mineral workings.

40.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of derelict land were created by the extractive industries during 1971.

The derelict land survey does not separately identify land which ceased to be used for mineral working during the year and which is not subject to planning conditions for after-treatment.

41.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of derelict land were restored by Burnley, Oldham, Liverpool and Salford in 1971; and what steps he will take to encourage a greater acreage of clearance this year.

Figures of land restored in 1971 are at present being collected as part of the 1971 survey and are not yet available. No restraint will be placed on expenditure by priority area authorities for this purpose during the coming financial year. From 1st April such expenditure will go into the key sector for loan sanction purposes.

42.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of derelict land have been restored by the ironstone industry in the past three years.

In the three years to 31st March, 1971, the Ironstone Restoration Fund made reclamation payments to the industry for 14 acres of pre-1950 dereliction and 1,164 acres of recent workings. In addition, some land was restored by industry without recourse to the Fund and 131 acres made derelict before 1950 were restored by local authorities.

43.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which plan- ning authority in the North-West Region had the best performance of derelict land clearance in 1971, where the acreage cleared is expressed as a percentage of the total acreage of dereliction within the authority's jurisdiction.

52.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the major problems being encountered by his Department and local authorities in the clearance of derelict land.

Problems vary in importance from area to area, and from time to time. The excellent progress in reclamation shows that they can be surmounted.

97.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of derelict land have been reclaimed by the National Coal Board in the past three years.

In conjunction with opencast working at 14 sites the Board has reclaimed in Great Britain about 1,000 acres of land left derelict after various uses. Some minor areas of dereliction have been reclaimed at other opencast sites.