In 2024, sales of sand and gravel in Devon were 0.301 million tonnes according to figures from Devon County Council.
At the end of 2024, Devon's sand and gravel reserves stood at 3.48 million tonnes. Devon County Council's Local Aggregate Assessment forecasts future demand based on a rolling average of 10 years’ sales data. In 2024, the 10-year average sales figure for sand and gravel in Devon was 0.482 million tonnes, giving a landbank of 3.48 / 0.482 = 7.2 years.
The Council's Minerals Plan runs until 2033 – a further 9 years. Using the 10-year average, a potential shortfall of sand and gravel over the remainder of the Plan period can be identified as (9 x 0.482) - 3.48 = 0.86 million tonnes.
The Minerals Plan allocated two Preferred Areas for the extraction of sand and gravel to cover such a shortfall, with resources of up to 1.2 million tonnes at Straitgate Farm for which permission was granted in 2023, and 8 million tonnes at West of Penslade Cross an application for part of which was lodged in 2025.
The Minerals Plan allocated two Preferred Areas for the extraction of sand and gravel to cover such a shortfall, with resources of up to 1.2 million tonnes at Straitgate Farm for which permission was granted in 2023, and 8 million tonnes at West of Penslade Cross an application for part of which was lodged in 2025.
In 2026, permission for extraction at Straitgate Farm lapsed. Without this resource, the equivalent sand and gravel reserve figure for 2024 therefore falls to 2.42 million tonnes, the landbank figure falls to 5 years, and the identified shortfall increases to 1.92 million tonnes.
