This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New guidelines proposed for old quarries
05/11/2001
The Executive announced today that it is planning
to introduce tougher environmental guidelines for old
quarries.
Deputy Transport and Planning Minister Lewis
Macdonald began the consultation process by telling a
meeting of Scotland's senior local authority planning
officials that the review of old mineral planning
permissions would be good news for local communities and
the environment.
The Executive proposes making it a statutory requirement
for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be carried
out in most cases before local authorities renew planning
permission for mineral workings.
The proposals would give planning authorities the power
to suspend mineral workings if an operator fails to provide
the necessary environmental information within a reasonable
time.
At the bi-annual Heads of Planning meeting in Dumfries,
Mr Macdonald said:
"It is vital to ensure that the impact of mineral
permissions on both local communities and the environment
are properly addressed. Planning consents now have to be
reviewed regularly to ensure the highest environmental
standards are applied and modern planning standards are
adhered to.
"These measures are also needed to ensure that Scotland
complies with the EC Directive on Environmental Assessment.
Our proposals will be the subject of a full and wide
consultation with the industry, planning authorities and
other key stakeholders over a three-month period.
"We have also commissioned research into the
effectiveness of the existing review of old mineral
planning procedures to measure the progress that planning
authorities have made in reviewing these applications. The
results of this research are awaited with interest.
"Taken together, this package will ensure that the needs
of both communities and the environment will be taken into
account when considering the future of old mineral workings
across the country. Ultimately, if an operator fails to
provide the required environmental information, then
planning authorities will have the right to suspend mineral
workings."
Over the past decade, legislation has been introduced
which requires holders of old mineral permissions to submit
proposed new operating and restoration conditions to be
considered by the relevant local planning authority. The
aim of this is to ensuring modern planning conditions apply
and the impact on communities and the environment is
minimised.
All old permissions - those begun before 1982 - should
now have been submitted for review and legislation also
requires that a periodic review of all working mineral
sites must now be carried out every 15 years, so progress
has also now started on a systematic review of all existing
mineral permissions.
Responses on the consultation paper should be sent to
Ian Mitchell, Scottish Executive Development Department,
Planning Division, 2-H32, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
by 8 February 2001.