Britain’s supply of sand, gravel and rock for the construction and manufacturing sectors are heading towards an all-time low as replenishment rates continue to fall behind sales volumes.
STATISTICS
The findings come from the Mineral Products Association (MPA)’s 9th Annual Mineral Planning Survey (AMPS 2021) for the period to the end of 2020.
The report shows decreasing aggregate sales in 2019 (-4.8%) and 2020 (-8.8%) compared with 2018.
The MPA said in a statement that the slowdown in 2019 was partly due to the UK leaving the European Union which affected commercial construction projects.
The decline in sales in 2020 reflects the impact of the first Covid lockdown, although demand rebounded quickly over the second half of the year and into 2021.
“Across Great Britain the demand for land-sourced sand and gravel continues to outstrip the new reserves being permitted, with the 10-year average replenishment rate at 63%.
“In 2020 only 36% of annual sales were replaced by newly permitted reserves.
“In the case of crushed rock, the 10-year average replenishment rate stands at 76%, with new reserves permitted in 2020 representing 52% of annual sales.”
MIDLANDS AND SOUTHWEST
The decline in reserve trends is seen across the country, particularly in regions such as the Midlands and South West that have traditionally sold large volumes of aggregates to other regions.
The MPA’s 10-year average data shows that key regions responsible for national supply are facing challenges in maintaining their reserve base given the pressures of ongoing demand.
ALARM BELLS
Executive director of planning and mineral resources, Mark Russell, said that the pressures on the reserve base would increase unless something changed.
“To secure the most sustainable and cost-effective supply of these materials will require active support and management, backed by data to monitor performance, in order to ensure the right resources can be made available in the right place and at the right time.
“The under-replenishment of mineral reserves over the last decade represents an unsustainable position, and the fact that the decline continues, despite two years of reduced aggregate sales, should ring alarm bells given the role of these minerals underpinning Government ambitions around net zero, green recovery and ‘levelling up’.
“Looking forwards, there is certainly no evidence that demand for these strategic resources will reduce over the next decade and beyond.”
KEY FINDINGS
Sales – land-sourced aggregates sales volumes from MPA members declined for two consecutive years in 2019 (-4.8%) and 2020 (-8.8%), from 140Mt in 2018 to 122Mt in 2020.
Replenishment of sand & gravel reserves – 36% of annual sales were replenished through new permissions in 2020, and with a rolling 10-year average of 63%, sales continue to outstrip the new reserves permitted.
Replenishment of crushed rock reserves – the 10-year average for the replenishment of crushed rock reserves is 76%, with 54% of annual sales in 2020 replaced by newly permitted crushed rock reserves.
Planning applications – there were 35 applications in 2020 (40 in 2019). Out of this total, nine (13 in 2019) were for new land-won aggregate (sand and gravel and crushed rock) extraction with the majority being extensions to existing operations rather than new sites.
Planning decisions – 15 applications (11 in 2019) were determined for sand and gravel extraction in 2020, 14 were granted (9 in 2019), one refused (two in 2019) and two withdrawn. For crushed rock in 2020, two applications were approved (three in 2019) and none refused.
Time taken to obtain permission – over the period 2008-2020, it took on average 35.7 and 34.3 months respectively to secure permission (from pre-application discussions to permission being issued) for new sand and gravel and crushed rock reserves.
Plan allocations – over the past 10 years, 38% of all new permissions issued were for sites not allocated in a mineral plan.