The council's environment committee has evacuated 46 families, affected by leukemia and other problems, from the mining areas.

CNN: NUCLEAR FALLOUT

Inner city areas of the Midlands and north of England, former mining areas and declining coastal resorts were also pinpointed as blackspots by the report.

BBC: Welsh houses are 'crumbling'

While mining would not be legal in the protected areas, hunting and grazing would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

CNN: Nature - Babbitt pushes land protection initiative