HILLINGDON UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN - London Borough ...

exceptional circumstances prevail.' Within the South East, that requirement has been formally apportioned
by SERPLAN. The expectation for London calculated on the basis of the current edition of MPG6 is an
average of 900,000 tonnes per annum, but achieving it depends on the progress with the restoration of
existing sites and other environmental issues, and does not remove the discretion of the minerals planning
authority to refuse applications which attract serious overriding objections. It is understood that the
London figure is an expectation of what will be produced, not as a target production level; and that there is
scope for a year on year fluctuation. MPG6 also requires minerals planning authorities to make every
effort to safeguard deposits which are of economic importance against other types of development which
would sterilise the deposits or be a serious hindrance to their extraction. (See Figure 10).
MIN1 WHEREVER SAND AND GRAVEL RESERVES ARE KNOWN TO EXIST THE
MINERAL PLANNING AUTHORITY WILL, WHERE PRACTICABLE, SAFEGUARD THOSE
RESOURCES FROM STERILISATION BY SURFACE DEVELOPMENT. THE
IDENTIFICATION OF SUCH RESERVES WILL, IN ITSELF, CREATE NO PRESUMPTION
THAT PROPOSALS FOR MINERAL EXTRACTION WILL BE ACCEPTABLE.
13.11 In cases where there is believed to be a deposit of sand and gravel lying beneath land upon
which surface development is proposed, the applicant will need to evaluate the quality and extent of that
deposit and demonstrate that provision has been made for its prior extraction. Circumstances where prior
extraction of that deposit will not be required are:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
where the mineral deposit is of no commercial interest and unlikely to be so in the future;
where there is, having regard to all relevant planning considerations, an overriding case
in favour of allowing the proposed surface development to proceed without prior
extraction; or
where the extraction of the mineral deposit would lead to such strong environmental or
other objection that it is unlikely such extraction would ever be permitted.
Should a proposed development not provide for the prior extraction of a mineral deposit it will, in the first
instance, be for the applicant to demonstrate that one or more of the above circumstances apply.
Minerals Extraction within Hillingdon
13.12 In Hillingdon four currently operative workings now have permitted reserves available after
the end of 1994. Three of these workings lie south of the M4 motorway, (representing 8% of land in this
area) as does the bulk of the remaining (unconsented) aggregate reserves within the Borough. This pattern
of land use first began to establish itself in the early 1980's, when for the first time three major (and a small
number of smaller scale) production sites were established south of the M4. Traditional quarrying areas,
such as the upper Colne Valley, Stockley Park and land west of Harmondsworth Village became exhausted.
At each site aggregate production was established, and as the initial site became exhausted, consent was
obtained to work an extension, while retaining the initial site as a remote processing centre. This had the
affect of leaving the initial site largely unrestored, thereby increasing the amount of land affected by
mineral working. Through the 1980's and into the 1990's, as one extension was worked out, another
extension would be granted consent, whilst still retaining the initial site for processing, in an unrestored
state. Hence in 1984, 122.6 hectares of land south of the M4 was subject to planning consent for sand and
gravel extraction (where the full restoration was still to be completed); in 1989, 134.2 hectares, were
subject to such consent and in 1994, 147 hectares.
13.13 All known sand and gravel reserves within the Borough's boundary lie within the Green Belt.
Paragraph 3.11 of PPG2 (revised January 1995) states the extraction of minerals from land within the
Green Belt "need not conflict with the purposes of including land in Green Belts, provided that high
environmental standards are maintained and that the site is well restored."
13.14 The Minerals Planning Authority fully recognises that the London Boroughs as a whole must
contribute to the Capital's own aggregate consumption by continuing to release land for minerals extraction,
while importing a substantial amount of aggregate to cater fully for demand. The Minerals Planning
London Borough of Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan