asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals have been made in the planning application for mining in the Vale of Belvoir which relate to (a) the use of the knot holes of the London Brick Company in Bedfordshire to accommodate colliery shale and (b) the transit route of this shale.

The planning application made by the National Coal Board to the Melton borough council for a new mine at Asfordby, Leicestershire, proposes that the mine waste should be tipped locally and contains no proposals for transporting the waste to Bedfordshire.