The Mineral Products Association – the trade body representing Aggregate Industries and friends – claims there are diminishing reserves of UK-sourced minerals, and has yet again urged the Government to take action. The MPA claims:
... for more than a decade the rate of consumption – mainly for construction – has not been matched by the rate of approval for new planning consents for quarrying, due to a ‘broken’ mineral planning system that often allows local interests to be prioritised above national need.Between 2014 and 2023, for every 100 tonnes of sand and gravel used in Great Britain, an average of 61 tonnes of new permissions have been granted.
The MPA asserts "this situation is not sustainable in the medium term". Mark Russell, Executive Director at MPA, declared:
Our survey shows the availability of essential minerals is fast approaching a cliff-edge.
RESERVE JUDGEMENT: The Govt needs to take urgent action to address diminishing permitted reserves of domestically-sourced minerals that are essential for #housing and #infrastructure - new report.
— Mineral Products Association (@MineralProduct) September 11, 2024
Read the full story: https://t.co/ji8p2Cn4Ph@RTPIPlanners #essentialmaterials pic.twitter.com/PaT8fp5F1X
But it’s not the first time the MPA has been shouting about replenishment rates of sand and gravel.
In 2018, the MPA warned:
A steady and adequate supply of aggregates needs to be planned, monitored and managed, all of which require support and strong direction from central Government... Demand for land-won sand and gravel continues to outstrip the amount of new reserves being permitted, with the 10-year average replenishment rate decreasing to 53%.
In 2013, the MPA warned:
The Mineral Products Association is calling on Government to increase its efforts to overcome inertia in the planning system, in order to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregates which are essential to the construction industry and the economy. Permitted reserves of sand and gravel are in serious decline and planning authorities are putting too much effort into reducing potential future supply rather than getting on with the business of adopting robust mineral plans. Average replenishment rates of aggregate reserves (i.e. the rates at which production is being replaced with new permissions) are continuing to decline. Only 43% of sand and gravel reserves have been replenished in the last 10 years to 2012...
In 2010, the MPA warned:
Long term trends in replenishment rates show that long term average sand and gravel replenishment rates have not been at parity for at least 10 years… In 2010 crushed rock long term replenishment stood at 67% over 10 years, and for sand and gravel, 49%.
And yet, miraculously, there are no shortages of sand and gravel in the UK.
In actual fact – by the MPA’s own figures – rather than "fast approaching a cliff-edge", the replenishment rate at 61% has actually been improving, and at less than 100% may reflect no more than the long-term decline of sand and gravel sales – sales in Devon being a prime example.
