Transport and the Environment Committee, 23 Jan 2002

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Official Report 329KB pdf

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Public Petitions

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Opencast Mining (PE346 and PE369)

Item 3 is public petitions. Members are invited to consider a paper from the committee reporters that outlines possible next steps on petition PE346 by Scotland Opposing Opencast and petition PE369 by the Confederation of United Kingdom Coal Producers. Members will recall that at a committee meeting in December we agreed to appoint Adam Ingram and Nora Radcliffe as reporters on the application of national planning policy guideline 16 and the cost of monitoring and enforcing mineral permissions. The reporters have prepared a paper that sets out the terms of reference for their work on the petitions and have proposed arrangements for receiving information.

Adam Ingram might want to add to or comment on the paper. He might also want to update the committee on the strategic planning seminar that he attended on Tuesday which, I believe, touched in passing on opencast development. Is there anything that you want to add?

Not really. It was interesting that at the seminar on Tuesday, the people who are concerned with the extraction of minerals wished to distance themselves from opencast extraction, which they described as the dirty end of the business. That is my feedback from the seminar.

The committee has already discussed the way ahead that is contained in the paper. There is nothing new to bring to the committee today. We just seek the go-ahead for the exercise.

Do any members want to ask Adam Ingram questions or to comment on the paper? Do members agree to the terms of reference and to seek permission from the conveners liaison group for the proposed meetings?

Members indicated agreement.

I thank members for their attendance. Next week we will continue with consideration of stage 2 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Bill and the other business that we did not manage to deal with today.

Meeting closed at 12:51.