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Mr. Nicholas Winterton
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications for mineral planning extraction of the recent House of Lords appeal decision in the case of the Hatshead quarry.
Mr. Macfarlane
The principal implication for mineral planning authorities of the decision of the House of Lords in the Hatshead quarry case is that, where mineral working permissions do not have a definite life upon them, the right to work the minerals cannot generally be regarded as abandoned even if the quarry has not been worked for some time. By virtue of section 7 of the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981, planning permissions at such quarries will expire in February 2042.