Material shortages threaten UK's national renewal plans

Over the summer, the Prime Minister began to lay out his plans for national renewal. Central to this will be a building and reindustrialisation boom – with construction and infrastructure investment to tackle the housing crisis, halt deindustrialisation, and deliver regional economic growth.

New data published by the Mineral Products Association, in our Annual Mineral Planning Survey 2025, has shown that the reserves of domestic sand, gravel and crushed rock in Britain, essential to deliver this boom, are declining, with replenishment failing to keep pace with extraction.

Planning to ensure we have adequate construction materials is essential for the long-term needs of our economy and society. It is worrying that we are running down reserves even in a period of historically low sales over recent years. This is the outcome of not enough investment in new capacity, which is in part a result of the slow, unpredictable nature of mineral planning.

Essential aggregates

Aggregates – sand, gravel and crushed rock – represent the largest material flow through the economy. They are essential to provide strength, volume and stability in concrete, asphalt and other vital building applications such as bulk fill and non-construction uses such as railway ballast. They are fundamental to everything from housing developments and schools to roads, railways and major energy projects.

Despite its importance, sales of crushed rock have exceeded new permissions granted for extraction for 13 consecutive years. We are consuming far more of this essential resource than we are replacing – in fact, we are using it three times faster than we are replenishing it. It is even more worrying on a regional basis – in the East Midlands, the report found that sales were 24 times higher than new permissions over the decade, in one of the country’s traditional centres of production.

Sand and gravel, the other main construction aggregate, is being used at twice the rate it is being replenished, but the problems we face with this supply are actually more concerning due to lower overall reserves.

Consequences

The consequences of failing to replenish domestic mineral reserves extend well into the country’s future. It typically takes ten to fifteen years to open a new quarry, so failing to get the system right now locks in consequences for years to come. The effects will be felt before we literally “run out” – aggregates will have to be transported further, with major projects and housebuilding competing for increasingly scarce permitted reserves  that will become increasingly scarce.

The minerals industry has an essential role to play in delivering the government’s ambitions. Action is needed to make sure the mineral planning service is fit for purpose with the following steps:

1. Use the new National Planning Policy Framework to put in place steps that facilitate rather than frustrate the extraction of minerals;
2. Update the long-overdue National and Sub-national Guidelines for aggregates provision to provide a robust assessment of future demand;
3. Establish specialist regional or sub-regional mineral planning ‘hubs’ to retain expertise and strengthen long-term planning capacity – particularly in light of the changes anticipated under local government reorganisation.

Britain's economic growth, housing ambitions and infrastructure programme all depend on a sufficient and timely supply of essential minerals from domestic sources. The warning signs are already visible. If the government fails to deliver on mineral planning, it would appear they are doomed to plan for failure. Our sector stands ready to deliver the materials the country needs for growth but, without the necessary minerals, Mr Burnham’s plan will never leave the page.

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