Planning framework proposals ‘a backward step’ for minerals

Mineral Products Association disappointed with proposed revisions to National Planning Policy Framework

THE Government’s proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) are a serious backwards step for minerals planning, according to the Mineral Products Association (MPA).

The MPA says the revised text, published on Tuesday 16 December, is a missed opportunity to address the growing threats to the domestic supply of essential minerals. The draft wording eliminates key references to long-established policy principles – maintaining a sufficient supply of minerals is no longer described as ‘essential’ and the need for mineral planning authorities to plan for a ‘steady and adequate supply’ of aggregates has been removed.

The MPA has long called for the Government to introduce more wide-ranging mineral planning reforms as part of an effort to reverse the long-term decline in permitted aggregate reserves.

This decline is ongoing despite historic low sales figures, making mineral planning reform an urgent necessity for ensuring a sustainable supply of construction materials. The proposed revisions to the NPPF further worsen the situation despite the fact that aggregates literally form the foundations and fabric for the Government’s growth agenda.

Mark Russell, executive director for mineral resources at the MPA, commented: ‘The draft text of the revised NPPF is a disappointing backwards step for mineral planning. Now is the time to be strengthening, not watering down, recognition of the strategic importance of domestic mineral extraction for our economy, given this represents the largest material flow in the economy.

‘Consequently, this is a missed opportunity to reinforce the strategic importance of essential minerals such as construction aggregates, industrial sands, and building stone and provide much needed confidence for businesses to invest in the future.

‘The Government’s planning reform programme has been welcomed in theory, but without mineral planning reform to enable the extraction of the materials on which construction depends, it will not translate to a sustainable higher level of house building and infrastructure delivery in practice. It will simply shift the barriers to development to somewhere else in the process. Permitted aggregate reserves are already in decline, even amid low construction activity.

‘The revised NPPF should set out a national statement of need for the essential minerals our economy depends upon, and deliver the mineral planning reform required to ensure a long-term sustainable supply of materials to underpin the construction boom the Government wants to see.’

The consultation on the draft text will run until March 2026 and the MPA urges all those involved with mineral extraction and planning to make representations ahead of the deadline.