A new report for the Government showing declining reserves of aggregates over two decades has prompted fresh calls for urgent action if Britain’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes and futureproofed infrastructure is to be realised.
Published last week, the Aggregate Minerals Survey 2023 (AM2023) is the latest four-yearly study, prepared by the British Geological Survey (BGS) for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), that assesses the national supply and demand of aggregate to inform future mineral planning policy.
AM2023 shows that permitted aggregate reserves in Great Britain fell by some 46% between 2001 and 2023, a worrying downward trend according to Britain’s aggregate producers, represented by the Mineral Products Association (MPA).
According to the MPA, the proposed changes to the planning system that are meant to speed up new housing approvals will do little to halt the decline in permitted reserves of the materials needed to build them — for foundations, floors, walls, rooftiles, driveways, associated services and amenities.
Aggregates continue to represent the largest material flow in the British economy, comprising the vast majority of materials for all construction products and being the only bulk material to be sourced almost entirely domestically.
MPA has called on the Government to renew its commitment to the long-established Managed Aggregate Supply System (MASS) that is intended to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregates for construction and industry. Yet despite years of warnings from the minerals industry to the contrary, consecutive Governments continue to take aggregate supply for granted whilst reserves continue to dwindle.
Mark Russell, MPA Executive Director for Mineral Resources, said: “Aggregate Minerals surveys are a vital part of the Managed Aggregate Supply System. Failure to respond to the findings of AM2023 would create a serious and costly risk not just to the minerals sector but also to the construction industry and the wider national economy, especially given that up to half of all aggregates are procured, directly and indirectly, by the Government.
“As it stands, areas such as the South East of England rely heavily on imports of materials from other regions in the country. The long-term planning for these supplies and the transport and infrastructure needed to deliver them, is vital to economic development. Britain is blessed with a diverse geology and while we understand the Government’s focus on ‘critical’ minerals over recent years, it has undoubtedly taken its finger off the pulse regarding the bread-and-butter minerals that the economy, and in particular the construction sector, relies upon. We hope the Government will heed the message from the AM2023 report, that the decline in permitted reserves must be urgently addressed to support investment in UK plc.”
The MPA has repeatedly highlighted that Government policy, particularly around the delivery of housing and infrastructure, assumes that mineral products like aggregates (and downstream products such as concrete and asphalt) are in plentiful supply. However, the reality remains that while Britain has an abundance of mineral resources in the ground, securing the permitted reserves to meet the country’s demands, requires long-term planning, monitoring and continual management a principle which successive Governments have failed to deliver upon.
For example, National and Sub-National Guidelines on Future Aggregate Provision, providing essential national and regional forecasts of need, have not been renewed since 2009, with the latest guidelines having expired in 2020. On the back of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the MPA is urging Government to provide more support and stronger planning policy for the mineral planning system as it anticipates a refresh of the National Planning Policy Framework towards the end of the year. A further risk to supplies is that the vast majority of current planning permissions expire in February 2042. Both issues can and must be fixed but successive Governments have failed to act.
The BGS report shows that total permitted reserves of aggregate in Great Britain, (including sites worked in the past but still containing reserves and sites that have yet to be opened) at the end of 2023 were 5,106 million tonnes (Mt). Crushed rock accounted for 90% (4,589 Mt) and sand and gravel the remaining 10% (518 Mt).
Total permitted reserves in Great Britain have decreased by 359 Mt (7%) since 2019. In England and Wales, total permitted reserves show a 10% decrease of 396 Mt since the previous report (2019) when total reserves for aggregate use were 4,157 Mt, comprising 3,697 Mt of crushed rock and 460 Mt of sand and gravel.
The Aggregate Minerals survey is the only nationally coordinated data collection exercise of its kind and is only carried out every four or five years. Since the cessation of the Annual Minerals Raised Inquiry survey, which MPA says was a short-sighted cost saving exercise by Government in 2014, central and local Government planners must now rely upon on this ‘spot’ data and infer information between surveys. This decision significantly increased the risk of inaccurate assumptions being made around the condition and sustainability of the reserve base for construction aggregates, potentially culminating in a shortfall of construction materials.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
About AM2023
The Aggregate Minerals survey is the most comprehensive survey for aggregates undertaken in Britain, with data collected from 150 mineral planning authorities across Great Britain capturing 699 active quarries, 63 wharves landing marine sand and gravel and 27 wharves landing crushed rock. The data is provided by through a confidential survey and the British Geological Survey report provides a comprehensive analysis of primary aggregates sales volumes, inter-regional flows, transportation, consumption and permitted reserves in England, Wales and for the first time, in conjunction with this, Scotland.
Aggregates sales figures 2023
In 2023, total consumption of primary aggregates in Great Britain was 164.9 Mt in 2023, of which 137.1 Mt was used in England, 15.5 Mt in Scotland and 11.5 Mt in Wales. AM2023 does not consider the contribution of recycled or secondary aggregates (those derived from demolition or industrial by-products) which MPA data shows account for around a third of the total aggregates consumed in Great Britain, more than virtually anywhere else in Europe and close to the maximum achievable.
Inter-regional material flows
The importance of inter-regional supply reinforces the need for minerals to be planned strategically. Inter-regional flows of crushed rock are significantly larger than for sand and gravel because of the overall larger demand for crushed rock, particularly for roadstone, and because regions such as London, the South East and East of England have only minor, or inferior quality, crushed rock resources.
England was a net importer of primary aggregates (11.7 Mt), while Wales (3.9 Mt) and Scotland (6.2 Mt) were net exporters. Some 8.2 Mt were imported into England and Wales from Scotland (3.6 Mt) and outside of Great Britain (4.6 Mt).
The East Midlands is the largest producing region at 31.4 Mt which is 22% of total land sourced sales in England and Wales. Closely followed by the South West with 26.4 Mt and 18% respectively. This highlights the nationally important role these two regions play in minerals supply. London, the South East, East of England and the North West and the regions most heavily dependent on imports.
The major crushed rock producing regions in England, the East Midlands and South West, have the largest exports representing 49% (13.2 Mt) and 35% (8.3 Mt) of their respective total crushed rock sales. The main importing regions were the South East (8.8 Mt), the East of England (6.3 Mt), followed by the North West (6.0 Mt) and London (5.2 Mt). London and South East also dominate marine aggregate sales at over 10 Mt.
The significance of inter-regional flows reinforces the importance of safeguarding of rail depots and wharves: 22.5 Mt (13.5%) of primary aggregates (crushed rock or marine aggregates) were brought to Great Britain by sea, and 25 Mt (15%) of all primary aggregates were distributed within Britain by rail or water to their point of use.
Aggregate uses
Sand and gravel: Concrete is the single the largest use for both land-sourced and marine-dredged sand and gravel. In 2024 concrete (ready-mixed and precast) accounted for some 50% of land-sourced and 60% of marine dredged sales for aggregate use in Great Britain, respectively. The other main product applications are screened and graded (single-sized) gravels for drainage and landscaping, sand suitable for use in mortar for bricklaying, and general fill material for trenches and around foundations.
Crushed rock has a wider range of uses including as a source of both coarse and fine concrete aggregate (14% of total rock sales in Britain) other screened and graded aggregates including rail ballast (30%), and for other construction uses such as sub-base and fill materials (20%). However, the main use for crushed is in road construction, both unbound (‘dry stone’), primarily for foundations, and bound with either bitumen (to produce asphalt) or cement in the upper layers. Rocks with high skid-resistant properties are required for the surface course of roads. Asphalt and dry stone represented the largest crushed rock aggregate use at 37.8 Mt (or 33% of total crushed rock aggregate sales in Britain). Of this total, 14.6 Mt was used in asphalt. Other smaller specialist uses, include railway track ballast (1.8 Mt) and armour stone (0.5 Mt).
About the Mineral Products Association:
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, dimension stone, lime, mortar and industrial sand industries. MPA is the sectoral voice for mineral products, covering 100% of UK cement and lime production, 90% of GB aggregates production, 95% of asphalt and over 60% of ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete production. In 2021, the industry supplied £22 billion worth of materials and services to the Economy. It is also the largest supplier to the construction industry, which had annual output valued at £178 billion. Industry production represents the largest flow of materials in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors.
For media enquiries, contact Robert McIlveen at: Robert.McIlveen@mineralproducts.org ; tel: 07394 568782