Cultural Heritage: Railways

(asked on 2nd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he and his Ministers have had discussions with Ministers in the Departments for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential effect on heritage railways of the (a) proposals in the DEFRA consultation on the cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood and (b) number of planning permissions granted by MHCLG for new surface coal mines; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 8th June 2020

I attended an MP-level meeting on the future of coal for heritage railways in March of this year. My Defra Ministerial colleague was in attendance at this meeting, at which discussions included the economic and social benefits of the heritage rail industry, the industry’s efforts to diversify the sector through carbon offsetting and seeking alternative fuels, and the status of extant planning permissions for mines in the UK.

My Defra Ministerial colleague confirmed that the consultation on the cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood applies only to residential settings, thereby placing heritage railways outwith the scope of this consultation.

Heritage railway representatives took an action from the meeting to contact officials at MHCLG regarding planning permissions for new and existing surface coal mines.

Reticulating Splines