BAA Annual Conference 2024
First published in the November 2024 issue of Quarry Management
Proceedings of the British Aggregates Association’s annual conference at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate
The British Aggregates Association 25th annual conference and AGM attracted attendees from across the aggregates sector. Held on 19 September at Harrogate’s Majestic Hotel, the event featured a packed line-up of speakers, company exhibits, and a black tie dinner (sponsored by Bay-Lynx). In addition, the winners of Quarry of the Year and Young Industry Talent were announced.
Proceedings opened with a welcome from BAA chief executive officer Mike Phillips, who set the tone for the day with his round-up of the past year’s events and gave a brief introduction to the speakers.
The first presentation was delivered by Paul Bradley, head of operations for the HSE’s Energy Division. He assured all that the Health and Safety Executive would continue to be fair and just, challenging businesses with poor health and safety records and using full enforcement to take actions against businesses who do not adequately protect workers.
During his presentation, he revealed key statistics highlighting that there is still much work to be done – 1.8 million workers suffered from work-related ill-health between 2022–2023. It is also estimated that there are 12,000 lung disease deaths a year linked to past exposures at work. Mr Bradley, however, was keen to emphasize that the UK has consistently one of the lowest rates of fatal industry across Europe (second only to Germany).
Towards the end of his talk, focus turned toward Net Zero, revealing that the HSE has established a Net Zero Hub with associated senior level governance. The Hub will co-ordinate and facilitate work on Net Zero topics across the HSE, supporting links between science, regulatory, and policy work. Senior level governance will ensure that the HSE is able to prioritize and resource work on Net Zero activities.
Derbyshire councillor Carolyn Renwick, cabinet member for infrastructure and environment, dedicated her presentation to Derbyshire’s place in the minerals industry, revealing that the county is one of the UK’s largest producers of minerals, providing significant employment and making a substantial contribution to the economy. In addition, the county provides 85% of the UK’s industrial limestone (c.3 million tonnes), as well as more than 10 million tonnes of aggregates and other mineral products.
She believes there is an abundance of opportunities to support the ‘natural advantages of Derbyshire’s central location’ and grow the mineral industry in the Midlands and the wider economy. Carolyn also explained that the Derbyshire and Derby Minerals Local Plan 2022–2038 is in draft format – this plan will help deliver sustainable minerals development.
Ian Cross of Minerals Matter was next to take to the stage and focused on the importance of recruiting new talent through promoting the minerals sector, inspiring an interest in STEM at a young age, and encouraging more diversity. He explained the role of a Minerals Matter ambassador and encouraged those present to think about getting involved. He explained that some of the most successful activities ambassadors engage in are conducting mock interviews for 15- and 17-year-old students.
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) was the topic for Erica Kemp of Envance, an organization that works with landowners and operators to help them navigate the practicalities and opportunities associated with BNG. Erica outlined the biodiversity crisis and spoke about new legalisation that has been implemented to protect and prevent the loss of biodiversity. In February of this year it was announced that all major developments must demonstrate a 10% BNG, and following this, in April, news that all developments greater than 25m2 must demonstrate a 10% BNG.
One of the most contentious subjects, landfill tax, was discussed at length by solicitor Jonathan Bell of Dyne Solicitors. His direct presentation delivered no-nonsense advice concerning HMRC’s position on European Waste Codes (EWC) and urged those affected to ‘communicate with an abundance of clarity’.
Following on from the launch of The Strategic Safety Forum for Health & Safety at Hillhead 2024, Mike Phillips (BAA), James Thorne (IQ), and Ben Williams (QNJAC and IQ) dedicated their presentation to improving safety within the sector. This proved to be an introduction to the work of the SSF and an update on its progress in recent months. Representatives from all organizations involved renewed their commitment to save lives and prevent injury. Collaboration, they agreed, would underpin all activity going forward.
With less than two years to go before the Scottish Aggregates Tax (SAT) goes live, Lindsay Geddes and James Lindsay of Revenue Scotland offered a quick guide to understanding the tax – and its implications. They provided a background to SAT, timelines for its introduction, current position, impact on operators in Scotland and England, and consultation information. Both were keen to reassure operators that the registration process would be simple and easy to navigate.
A sobering presentation from Chris Rowan followed. A former quarry, asphalt, and concrete manager, Chris was kidnapped while working in Nigeria in 2015. He described his road to recovery and during this deeply honest account, recounted his experiences of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to encourage others – particularly men – to talk about their mental health.
Jo Dalton of Pen Test Partners provided a wake-up call on cyber security, explaining just how easy it is for hackers to take advantage of sub-standard security measures. She revealed that the connected mining market would be worth US$22.7 billion by 2028 and advised those considering implementing new systems to ask any potential provider questions, including asking to see worked examples of reported vulnerabilities.
The main sponsor of the conference, CDE Group, were represented by William Melanophy, whose presentation covered waste-processing best practices. From their headquarters in Northern Ireland, CDE operate across the globe with more than 2,500 projects – the aim of these projects is to build the circular economy through innovative technology which transforms waste into new resources to reduce environmental impact and operating costs. To illustrate this, Mr Melanophy shared a case study on Malcolm Construction, who have supported major infrastructure growth in the greater Glasgow area and now divert some 500,000 tonnes from landfill each year.
Bringing the day’s presentations to a close – and preceding the Young Industry Talent Award – Dan Pestell and Josh Robinson (previous young talent winners) shared an insight into how life had changed for them since winning the award.
Young Industry Talent – winners
Meg Bannerman from Tillicoultry Quarries was crowned the overall Young Industry Talent winner, with Connor Garner-Jones and Michael Treneer, who also demonstrated exceptional talent, being awarded as runners-up.
The following individuals were also recognized for their outstanding contributions: James McDonald, Adam Boddy, Joe Wardman, Joe Gaeta, and Alexander Nolan. All received highly commended honours.
Quarry of the Year
Tillicoultry Quarries’ Northfield Quarry took top spot as Quarry of the Year winner with Longcliffe and Smith & Sons Bletchington both highly commended.
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