Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru
The National Assembly for Wales
WRITTEN ASSEMBLY QUESTION
TABLED ON 15 MARCH 2000
FOR ANSWER BY THE SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENT
ON 20 MARCH 2000
Alun Cairns (South Wales West): What is the proposed amount of sand to be taken from "Welsh Waters" over the next 10 years; from where, and how much sand (individually) (WAQ4316)
Sue Essex:: The current licence to dredge sand from the western end of Nash Bank allows for the removal of a maximum of 900,000 tonnes per annum and runs out in February 2001. An application to dredge the same area for a further 10 years (at the same rate per annum) is expected this week.
The current licence to extract sand from the Helwick Bank allows for the removal of a maximum of 150,000 tonnes per annum and expires in May 2003. The company operating the licence have recently requested a relaxation of the condition which restricts dredging to that amount, seeking to increase the take by a total of 300,000 tonnes for the remainder of the licence. The company have recently conformed their intention to submit a further application to continue dredging beyond the expiry of the current licence.
The licences to dredge at Holm Sands and West Middle Ground are in deeper water further from the coastline and permit maximum takes of 2,975,000 tonnes and 250,000 tonnes respectively for the foreseeable future. It is not known whether there are any long term plans to continue dredging on Hilbre Swash.
An application to remove 400,000 tonnes of sand per annum from North Middle Ground for a period of at least ten years is proposed and is currently undergoing extensive consultation with interested organisations and parties. Dredging has not taken place at this location before.
It should be noted that amounts extracted rarely reach the permitted annual take.
The planning permission granted for the removal of material from the Bedwin Sands allows a maximum of 150,000 tonnes per annum to be removed until June 2015. It is not known whether an application to continue removing sand after this date will be made.