Planning, building and the environment

Aggregate Minerals Surveys

Aggregate Minerals (AM) Surveys, based at four-yearly intervals since 1973, provide in-depth and up-to-date information on the regional and national sales, inter-regional flows, transportation, consumption and permitted reserves of primary aggregates. The surveys cover both land won and marine dredged aggregates.

The AM2005 survey report, in addition, presents, for the first time, data on the movement and consumption of primary aggregates by sub-region. The AM2001 and AM2005 survey reports also present information on the quantity of aggregate minerals granted and refused planning permission, by site type and environmental designation.

More recently, complementary surveys have provided information on the arisings and use of alternatives to primary aggregates, such as selected minerals wastes, construction, demolition and excavation wastes, and industrial wastes. The latest survey undertaken for 2005 is the Survey of Arisings and Use of Alternatives to Primary Aggregates in England, 2005: Construction, Demolition and Excavation Waste: Final Report (available below).

These surveys are used to inform Government on the production, movement and consumption of aggregates in order to monitor and revise, as necessary, the aggregates guidelines, which support Minerals Policy Statement 1: Planning and Minerals (MPS1) (available below), and to monitor and develop planning policies for the managed supply of aggregates in England. The key Government objectives and planning policies on minerals in England are set out in MPS1 and in Annex 1: Aggregates (of MPS1). The National and regional guidelines for aggregates provision in England, 2005-2020 (available below) indicate how provision for the supply of aggregates should be made to meet anticipated need to 2020. Communities and Local Government is committed to keeping these guidelines under review. The Department monitors them on an annual basis and they will be revised when necessary.

The national collations of the 1997, 2001 and 2005 Aggregate Minerals Surveys for England and Wales are available below.

The national collations of the 1973, 1977, 1985, 1989 and 1993 Aggregate Minerals Surveys for England and Wales are available from Andrew Lipinski (Tel: 0303 444 1685).

The Scottish Government also commissioned an aggregates survey for Scotland for 2005. The survey gathered together information on the production, distribution and permitted reserves of primary aggregates produced and available from Scottish quarries as at 2005. This survey will be used to inform the Scottish Government on the production, movement and consumption of aggregates and to monitor and develop planning policies for the supply of aggregates in Scotland. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 4: Minerals sets out the key objectives and planning policies on minerals in Scotland. The Scottish Aggregates Survey 2005 can be downloaded from Scottish Government (external link).

The findings and recommendations in these reports are those of the consultant authors and do not necessarily represent the views or proposed policies of Communities and Local Government.