All change again at the top of Aggregate Industries

No one can accuse Aggregate Industries of letting the grass grow under its executives’ feet. 

This week, the company appointed a new boss, Lee Sleight – previously Managing Director of the Aggregates division, and, coincidentally, first mentioned here only a few days ago. 

Mr Sleight is clearly happy to be the next in line to be called upon: 

It is a very proud moment for me to be chosen to lead this fantastic business.

Mr Sleight will be Aggregate Industries’ sixth CEO during the time in which the company has been trying to get its hands on the sand and gravel at Straitgate. 

Whether that says more about the turnover of bosses in this fantastic business, or just how many years the company has spent messing about trying to secure the relatively small amount of mineral on offer at Straitgate, readers can decide. 

Kaziwe Kaulule will replace Mr Sleight as MD of the Aggregates division.

‘Time to get Britain building responsibly’, says Aggregate Industries

A change of government has prompted all manner of press releases from the building industry this week. 

Both the Mineral Products Association, the trade body representing Aggregate Industries et al., and Aggregate Industries itself have responded to plans set out by the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to overhaul the planning system and boost housebuilding. 

MPA Director of Public Affairs, Robert McIlveen, said: 

The Chancellor has wasted no time to get going, and we warmly welcome her decisions on housing and onshore wind, as well as hiring more planners. We look forward to such decisive action in other areas… 

We will be writing to key ministers in the coming days, stressing that planning reform for housing is just the first step, and that a similar approach of unblocking the planning system needs to be taken for mineral extraction, processing and freight. This is fundamental to growth, given the sector represents the largest material flow in the UK economy – over 1 million tonnes of raw materials and products every day. Mineral products make up a major part of the supply chain for housing and infrastructure, but our members face prohibitive constraints in the current planning and permitting system.

Lee Sleight, who this year became Aggregate Industries' latest Managing Director of Aggregate, said: 

As a leading sustainable building materials supplier within the UK, we are fully on board with this initiative and ready to support key areas such as house building, infrastructure and onshore wind. 

So far in 2024, the UK market has seen a concerning slowdown in both infrastructure projects and house building, with 24% less construction starts in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous year, and construction output in the housing sector 19% below 2019 levels in February this year. 

etc etc 

Without a doubt, the urgent steps which the Chancellor has laid out to kick-start economic growth are necessary and achievable, and we are poised ready for the challenge. However, taking house building as an example, the 1.5 million homes projected over the next five years will require vast amounts of materials.

A conservative estimate of just the concrete required for these homes could be 37.5 million cubic metres. For perspective, this equates to more than nine times the capacity of Wembley Stadium and underscores the importance of recycled materials. 

This is why it’s crucial we create a new blueprint for the Great British built environment. Aggregate Industries have ambitious plans to help achieve net zero and are adopting a circular economy approach across everything they do. 

The construction industry must responsibly embrace the Chancellor’s national mission for growth but can only achieve this by building in a circular and wholly sustainable way. This goes far beyond just minimizing waste. Effectively, we need to build new cities from the ‘urban quarry’ of our old stock, thereby conserving the precious resources of our island nation.

And, of course, no one would disagree with Mr Sleight’s apparent passion for the use of recycled materials and conserving the precious resources of our island nation – but this is the MD of the division of Aggregate Industries that has been fighting tooth and nail over the last 15 years to dig the life out of a relatively insignificant greenfield site in East Devon for precious unsustainable primary un-recycled materials, and to process them 23 miles away – a wholly unsustainable way. 

Aggregate Industries: Say one thing and do another.

Quarry companies – if at first they don’t succeed

For the second time, Brett Aggregates has appealed the decision by Hertfordshire County Council to refuse plans for an eight million tonne sand and gravel quarry on the site of the former Hatfield Aerodrome. A planning inquiry is due to start on 19 November and is scheduled to last for 10 days. 

The Planning Inspectorate refused the company’s previous application to quarry the site in 2022 – following a nine-day public inquiry – citing harm to the Green Belt, character, appearance and amenity of the area, as we have previously posted. 

Herts County Council has described the latest application as being "substantially similar" to the first.

What is it about the answer NO that quarry companies don't understand?

Quarry plan subject to second inquiry https://t.co/c48pHsvm5F

— BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks (@BBC3CR) July 11, 2024

Cumbria coal mine unlawfully approved, government says

The Government has admitted that a proposed coal mine in Cumbria – subject of these posts – was approved unlawfully, as the carbon emissions of coal from the mine should have been taken into account in the planning decision, the Guardian reported this week.

Sense at long last. How was it ever possible not to take account of the emissions from burning the coal ?!? It took a conspiracy of warped and disingenuous arguments to keep this crazy mine plan going for so long. Thank SLACC and FOE for fighting it. https://t.co/UTLbu9cPli

— Mike Berners-Lee (@MikeBernersLee) July 11, 2024

Anger as Aggregate Industries cuts hauliers’ rates

According to Motor Transport magazine, Aggregate Industries has blamed "extremely challenging" trading conditions for its decision to cut rates for hauliers: 

Hauliers working for Aggregate Industries (AI) have reacted with fury at a move by the company to chop its rates by 1.77% after blaming “extremely challenging” trading conditions. 

In a letter to its franchised hauliers, AI said they needed to accept “the reality of a weakening construction market” and so it was taking the difficult decision to cut its rates. 

It said fuel prices had decreased and therefore tipper haulage rates on standard work would be reduced by 0.52%. 

But AI also said it was cutting the rate by an additional 1.25% to reflect the current trading environment. 

“We will aggressively target utilisation improvements to help reduce the impact of the rate changes,” the letter said. 

“When the market dynamic shifts towards a more positive outlook, we will actively review this specific change.” 

However, hauliers have told Motor Transport that AI is doing the opposite of other companies in the sector: “I think they’re just greedy,” said one, who asked to remain anonymous. 

“Work has got quieter, but it only seems to be for them. Breedon have put their rates up by 3.91%. 

“People can’t run trucks with what they are asking us to do; like the spec on all our wagons. 

“You need one truck and two drivers and you need to work them day and night and that’s it, or it will never pay.” 

Another haulier, Roger Foster, said he’d pulled his trucks off AI work in the west of England when he received the letter: “I think it stinks,” he said. “There is work! I’ve heard they’ve got lorries coming from Manchester covering the work because we are not doing it. 

“No-one else is cutting the rate. I think there’s plenty of work out there.” 

An AI spokesman said: “We recently communicated to our franchised hauliers who serve our aggregates and asphalt business in respect of our standard rates. 

“We regularly review these rates against fluctuating fuel costs and adjust them accordingly. 

“As average fuel prices have dropped this quarter we will be adjusting all standard tipper haulage rates for all vehicle types on all standard work by -0.52% from 1 July 2024.” 

The spokesman added: “There are also very challenging market conditions across the industry currently and, as a business, we must constantly look at how we can remain competitive and drive efficiencies. 

“As part of this drive we have made the difficult decision to reduce standard rates by a further 1.25%.” 

Of course, a reduction in rates won’t help Aggregate Industries find an operator prepared to haul any Straitgate winnings to Hillhead for processing – a 46-mile round trip for every as-dug load that must only be fuelled with the more expensive HVO. However, the company has already admitted that economic conditions are not currently conducive to the viability of mineral working at Straitgate, and that once the permission is implemented the site could be mothballed.

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for June

Aggregate Industries provided the following update yesterday in relation to implementing its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm: 

No change this month as no new schemes have been submitted.