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Mr. George Rodgers
asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many applications for opencast developments he has approved during the last three years; and in how many cases approval has been given against the recommendation of the Department of the Environment's inspector who has presided at an inquiry.
Mr. Eadie
Since the beginning of 1976, 50 applications have been approved, four of them after the inspector at a public inquiry had recommended refusal. In two of the latter cases, significant modifications were made to the boundaries of the sites in accordance with the inspectors' suggestions.