Technical and Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in ...

Technical and StrategicAssessment of Aggregate SupplyOptions in the South West RegionReference: SWRA / Aggregates / 0804June 2005A. Thompson, D. Knapman & D. ClintonCapita Symonds LimitedCapita Symonds HouseQuays Office ParkConference AvenuePortisheadBristolBS20 7LZTel: 01275 840840Fax: 01275 840830

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionCONTENTS1. Introduction.......................................................................................................22. Key Issues, Aims and Objectives ....................................................................3Background .....................................................................................................................3The Need for this Research ............................................................................................3Aims and Objectives........................................................................................................43. Data Collection Methodology...........................................................................54. Review of Available Data..................................................................................7Primary Aggregates.........................................................................................................7Sub-Regional Apportionment ........................................................................................13Potential for Substitution ...............................................................................................15Recycled Construction, Demolition & Excavation Materials..........................................19Wharf Capacities & Marine Aggregates ........................................................................245. Description of the Baseline and Alternative Supply Scenarios ..................30Baseline Conditions: “Scenario 1” .................................................................................31Alternative Scenarios ....................................................................................................346. Sustainability Implications of the Alternative Supply Scenarios................44Scenario 2 compared with Scenario 1...........................................................................44Variations to Scenario 2 ................................................................................................46Reversal of Scenario 2 ..................................................................................................46Scenario 3 compared with Scenario 1...........................................................................47Discussion .....................................................................................................................48Developing a Preferred Solution: Scenario 4 ................................................................497. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................51Appendix A: Primary and Secondary Aggregate Sources in the South West.......53Hard Rock Aggregate Sources......................................................................................53‘Weak’ Rock Aggregate Sources...................................................................................57Sand & Gravel Aggregate Sources ...............................................................................59Secondary Aggregate Sources .....................................................................................60Appendix B: Sustainability Issues Relating to Aggregates Supply Options.........71Production Issues..........................................................................................................72Transport Issues............................................................................................................79In-service Performance Issues......................................................................................81Capita Symonds Limited page 1 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region1. Introduction1.1 This document outlines the findings of the “Technical and Strategic Assessment of CurrentAggregate Reserves and Potential Use of Secondary and Recycled Aggregates in theSouth West Region” project (reference SWRA / Aggregates / 0804).1.2 The assessment has been carried out for the South West Regional Assembly by CapitaSymonds Limited, working in close liaison with the secretary of South West RegionalAggregates Working Party and with a Minerals Review officer working group appointed bythe Regional Assembly.1.3 The report sets out:! The key issues, aims and objectives that have been addressed by this project(Chapter 2)! The methodology that has been used to compile the basic data (Chapter3);! A review of the available factual data (Chapter 4);! A description of the existing (baseline) and potential alternative supplyscenarios (Chapter 5);! An outline assessment of the sustainability differences between the alternativescenarios (Chapter 6); and! Conclusions, including recommendations for further work that will be neededbefore a preferred scenario can be taken forward into the Regional Spatial Strategy(Chapter 7).Capita Symonds Limited page 2 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region2. Key Issues, Aims and ObjectivesBackground2.1 With the implementation of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, much greateremphasis is now being placed on the regional tier of land use planning. Existing RegionalPlanning Guidance is being replaced by Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS), the mainpurpose of which is to provide a spatial framework for each region, over a fifteen to twentyyear period, within which Local Development Frameworks, Minerals and WasteDevelopment Frameworks and Local Transport Plans can be prepared.2.2 The intention is that the RSS should provide an integrated, strategic approach, withregional and sub-regional priorities for housing and other development being formulatedalongside those for environmental protection, water resources, agriculture, minerals andwaste. A two-way approach is involved, with the RSS being required to inform, as well astake account of other strategies, such as regional economic strategies and those on airquality, energy, climate change and the provision of adequate water supplies, aggregatesand other minerals to support economic growth.2.3 This two-way process fits in with the Government’s move away from the ethos of ‘predictand provide’, which has been central to its Guidelines on Aggregates Provision in the past(MPG6), to one of ‘plan, monitor and manage’.2.4 The essential difference is that supply patterns in future need not be driven so much bymarket forces but will need to take much greater account of the environmental and widersustainability implications involved. There needs to be much greater emphasis on regionalscalestrategic thinking, in order to provide a context for local planning that has beenshaped by the need to deliver more sustainable patterns of development.2.5 This is reflected in the ODPM’s revised National and Regional Guidelines for AggregatesProvision in England, 2001 – 2016, which note, in Clause 6, that “It might be appropriate tocarry out an initial sub-regional apportionment on the basis of recent production but to thenexamine possible alternatives before deciding on a preferred option. The likelyenvironmental impacts of any additional extraction should be assessed in relation to theability of the aggregate-producing areas concerned to absorb such impacts, especiallyimpacts on areas of international and national landscape or conservation designations, andthe impacts on the populations affected”.2.6 The latter part of this statement gives particular emphasis to environmental protection,especially within designated areas. It is important, however, that such issues are properlybalanced against other environmental factors (such as those relating to aggregatestransportation) and considered alongside the various social and economic implicationsinvolved, within the overall context of sustainability.2.7 In recognition of this, the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) wishes to consider twoor more alternative scenarios for the sub-Regional apportionment of aggregates supply inthe period up to 2016: a production-led scenario based on recent market trends, which hasalready been developed by the South West Regional Aggregates Working Party(SWRAWP) and adopted as a pragmatic solution for the present (“Scenario 1”); and other,potentially ‘more sustainable’ alternative scenarios, to be fed into the next review ofregional policy.The Need for this Research2.8 At present, forward thinking mineral planning policies can begin to take account of thesemuch wider sustainability implications, as can individual planning decisions, but the reformsCapita Symonds Limited page 3 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionintroduced by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act call for a far more strategicapproach to be adopted at a Regional level, with the RSS providing a vital context for subregionaland local perspectives.2.9 In order to provide that context and to inform the debate on the relative sustainability andfeasibility of alternative supply scenarios, there is a need for factual information on theavailability of alternative aggregate supply sources and on the demands likely to be placedon these from both within and outside the region.2.10 Just as importantly, however, there is also a need for informed and experiencedinterpretation of these facts, so that their strategic implications for the choices that have tobe made by the Assembly can be properly understood. This need is clearly identified in theConsultant’s Brief and the Assembly has since confirmed that the over-riding need is for astrategic review, rather than an in-depth study of all the detail.Aims and Objectives2.11 The principal aims of the research, as stated in the Consultant’s Brief, are therefore toprovide:(i) An overview of current reserves and resources of primary aggregates in theregion;(ii) An assessment of current sub regional apportionment and opportunities for reapportionmentto address shortfalls in supply and to mitigate for unacceptableenvironmental aspects of future working, including commentary on marketdemand for aggregates in the region up to 2026;(iii) A technical assessment of substitution of primary aggregates between bothadjacent MPAs and across the region (specifically the substitution of sand &gravel by crushed rock);(iv) An assessment of the existing arisings of construction and demolition wastesand the potential processing capacity of this resource; and(v)An assessment of the current wharf capacity for both land won and marineaggregates and the future potential of this facility.Capita Symonds Limited page 4 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region3. Data Collection MethodologyPrimary Aggregates3.1 The research was required to include a strategic assessment of the ‘current reserves’ and‘known economic resources’ within the region.3.2 Detailed but confidential information on the stock of current reserves is held by the SouthWest Regional Aggregates Working Party, but this was unable to be provided to CapitaSymonds except in the form of aggregated statistics which maintain the confidentiality ofthe data for individual sites and producers. Published data of this type for each MPA isalready set out in the SWRAWP Annual Report for 2001 but, in an attempt to gain a betterunderstanding of the different types of aggregate produced within the region, a moredetailed breakdown of data was requested for different types of aggregate in each MPA.These data were compiled by the RAWP secretary, with some of the requested groupshaving to be combined to preserve confidentiality. The information was supplied to CapitaSymonds in December 2004 with an update (including further subdivisions of the data)being provided in early February, 2005. Individual MPAs also provided clarificationregarding the status of individual sites in 2001, which had previously been incorrectlyreported.3.3 ‘Known economic resources’ of primary aggregates, by definition, are deposits that do notcurrently have planning permission, but which have been proven by aggregate companiesor others as economically exploitable material. MPAs generally do not have detailedquantitative information on such resources, other than information relating to planningapplications that have either been refused or not yet determined. They do, however, haveestimates of the resource volumes likely to be contained within Preferred Areas and othersafeguarded sites that are identified within minerals Local Plans. Such information wasprovided by the RAWP, but only for the areas where there is a predicted shortfall in relationto the Scenario 1 sub-Regional apportionment requirements. Even this represents only asample of the economically viable resources that are likely to be present within those areasand the region as a whole. More comprehensive information on this is held by individualmineral operators, based on their own exploratory surveys, but is commercially confidentialand thus not available for use in this research.3.4 Other, related tasks identified in the Brief included the assessment of productive capacity,the pattern of movement of aggregate around the region and across its borders, and thechanges in rates of production in recent years. These are all areas which could beinvestigated in great detail, but not within the available timescale and budget for thisproject. Moreover, the AM2001 survey data (on which this assessment is largely based) didnot obtain information on the destination of sales by county, as previous (but now outdated)AM surveys did, and the SWRAWP has confirmed that the detailed information required forthese tasks simply cannot be supplied from existing data (Philip Hale, personalcommunication, January 2005). These issues have therefore generally been addressedonly in very general terms, to obtain a qualitative overview for each of the maingeographical groups of quarries referred to earlier. An important exception to this is that,where the study has identified potential sources of material that could substitute fortraditional sources facing a shortfall of reserves, specific enquiries were made to verify thatthe necessary spare capacity exists at those sites.Sub-Regional Apportionment3.5 In June 2003, ODPM published the latest National and Regional Guidelines for AggregatesProvision in England, for the period 2001-2016. An initial sub-Regional apportionment ofthose figures for the South West Region (‘Scenario 1’) was completed by the SWRAWP inCapita Symonds Limited page 5 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region4. Review of Available Data4.1 The background data, which forms the basis for the analysis presented in the laterChapters of this report, is set out below under the following five headings, corresponding tothe five principal themes of the research:o Primary Aggregateso Sub-Regional Apportionmento Potential for Substitutiono Recycled Materialso Wharf Capacities and Marine Aggregates4.2 Under each heading, consideration is given, not only to the factual assessment of existingconditions, but also to the economic and practical potential for change, insofar as thisstrategic overview has been able to ascertain. Unless deliberate market distortions areintroduced through financial instruments such as further taxes and/or transport subsidies, itis these limitations that will determine what, realistically, can be changed, within the periodto 2016 and beyond.Primary Aggregates4.3 Table A1 in Appendix A sets out a comprehensive listing of active and inactive primary andsecondary aggregate sources with planning consent within the South West, grouped bysimilarity of aggregate type, end use and geographical location.4.4 The land-based sources include a small number of dormant permissions which have not yethad an Initial Review of planning conditions and which cannot be worked until such areview has been carried out. For the most part, these are sites that are judged, by therelevant MPAs, to have at least some likelihood of being worked in future years, and theygenerally exclude sites where extant permissions are likely to be surrendered or which arelikely to become subject to prohibition orders.4.5 Figures (as supplied by the SWRAWP) are provided in Appendix A for the total permittedaggregate reserves (as of 31/12/01) and for the total annual output of aggregate (in 2001)for each group of primary aggregate sources. These figures provide a more detailedbreakdown than those given in the SWRAWP Annual Report for 2001 and they alsoincorporate some minor corrections to the 2001 data since that report was published (PhilHale, Secretary, SWRAWP, personal communication, February 2005). The figures for landbased primary aggregate sources are summarised in Table 4.1, below.4.6 Whilst the reserves figures should, theoretically, all have been calculated by the operatorsto take account of planning restrictions (e.g. land required for screening bunds), bestpractice in environmental protection and HSE guidelines on safe quarry design, in practicethis has probably not always been the case. Some of the figures will therefore be overestimatesof the volume of material that can actually be extracted from within the permittedsurface area.4.7 In all cases, the reserves and output figures relate only to material that is (or is likely to be)sold as aggregate (as judged by the MPAs concerned). This includes quarry fines,scalpings and (in some cases) armourstone, but it excludes all forms of dimension stone,including building stone, walling stone, roofing stone and ornamental stone products.4.8 Environment Agency decisions on the forthcoming new transfer licences for quarrydewatering may reduce the proportion of total reserves that are capable of being workedCapita Symonds Limited page 7 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionand, in the case of quarries that are actively working below the water table, they couldpotentially restrict current and future rates of production. These effects should be minimalfor most quarries (not least because of the entitlement to compensation for any asset valuelost before 2012) but the impact could potentially be very serious in areas (such as theMendips) where major aggregate quarries requiring large scale dewatering exist withingroundwater catchments that are extensively used for public water supply. The preciseimplications of this cannot be assessed until more is known about the way in which the newlicences will be determined, although a number of scenarios could usefully be developed toillustrate some of the potential consequences. This, however, would require site-specificinformation on the proportions of reserves above and below the natural water table, andabove and below the current (drawn-down) water table. Such information is not currentlyavailable.Table 4.1: Permitted Reserves and Annual Output (in 2001) for Groups of Land-Based Primary Aggregate Sources in South West EnglandGroups of Sources 2001 Reserves 2001 Output2001Output LifeSub-Totals(see Appendix A for details of each group, and Figures 4.1 to 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) (Mt) (yrs)HARD ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendips, Somerset 638.75 13.03 49B: Carboniferous & Devonian Limestone, Somerset & Devon 124.96 2.18 57C: Carboniferous Limestone, North Somerset 61.00 2.45 25D: Carboniferous Limestone, Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) 16.90 1.43 12E: Carboniferous Limestone, South Gloucestershire 183.00 3.02 6125.41F: Granite & Gabbro, SW Cornwall 124.03 0.93 133G: Granite, N Cornwall & Dartmoor 50.74 0.48 105H: Dolerite, Devon & Cornwall, plus Andesite, Somerset 87.79 1.24 71I: Carboniferous and Devonian Sandstone, Devon & Cornwall 21.20 0.59 36J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 3.60 0.0661‘WEAK’ ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, Dorset 46.32 0.39 119L: Jurassic Limestone & Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and M 2.10 0.07 1.2032M: Jurassic Limestone, Gloucestershire 14.37 0.7419LAND-BASED SAND & GRAVEL AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, Devon 12.05 1.02 12O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & Cornwall 3.05 0.19 16P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Wiltshire 11.66 1.39 5.258Q: Quaternary and Triassic Sand & Gravel, Gloucestershire 11.77 0.88 13R: Tertiary & Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Dorset 26.89 1.77Totals (Mt) 1440.17 31.86 4515SOURCE: SWRAWP, February 20054.9 The increased breakdown shown in Table 4.1, compared with that given in the SWRAWPannual report, 2001, allows a more detailed examination to be made of the relativecontributions of supply from different types of aggregate. This is important because thedifferent types are not always interchangeable in terms of their suitability for different enduses. It is especially important in terms of the distinction between ‘hard rock’ aggregates(such as Carboniferous Limestone, Granite and Dolerite) and the much weaker materialsgenerally produced from younger rock types such as the Carboniferous sandstones withinthe Forest of Dean, the Jurassic Limestones, and the Cretaceous Chalk and Greensand.The latter are referred to here as ‘weak rock’ aggregates and are generally produced as aby-product of building stone extraction. Included in the latter group are a small number ofDevonian slate quarries where, in contrast to other building stone quarries, the ‘waste’ by-Capita Symonds Limited page 8 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionproducts are exempted from the Aggregates Levy. Some of that material is utilised assecondary aggregate.4.10 Figures 4.1 to 4.3 show the geographical distribution of the sites in each group. Figure 4.1shows the hard rock aggregate sources; Figure 4.2 shows the ‘weak rock’ aggregatesources together with the secondary aggregate sources at china clay workings; and Figure4.3 shows both the land based natural sand & gravel sources and the locations of marinedredging licences.4.11 In each of these figures, simple bar charts are presented to illustrate the relative size of thepermitted reserves (left column), and the amount of reserves needed to fulfil the ‘Scenario1’ expectations for the period to 2016 (as explained in Chapter 5, below). The datarepresented by these graphs are taken from Table 4.1, above and from Table 5.2, below.4.12 More detailed information on the nature of the aggregates produced in each of thesegroups, and the ability of each group to sustain production over the period to 2016, is givenin Appendix A.Secondary Aggregate Sources4.13 Table 4.2, below, summarises the available information on secondary aggregate productionwithin South West England, based on discussions with the main producers. Production isdominated by aggregates from china clay workings within the St Austell and southDartmoor areas, but also includes smaller quantities of slate waste and sand from ball clayworkings. Precise reserve figures are not known for any of these materials, most of whichare available in the form of both continuous arisings and stockpiles of older, discardedmaterial. The exception is the ball clay sand which tends to be produced intermittently,during phases of overburden removal.4.14 Further details of the nature of production for each group of sources, and their potential forsubstitution are given at the end of Appendix A.Table 4.2: Permitted Reserves and Annual Output (in 2001) for Groups ofSecondary Aggregate Sources in South West EnglandGroups of Sources2001Reserves2001Output2001OutputSub-Totals(see Figures 4.2 and 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) (Mt) (yrs)U: Ball Clay sand, Devon & Dorset Not known 0.13 Not knownV: Devonian slate waste, Cornwall Not known 0.24 Not known2.27W: China clay aggregates, St Austell area, Cornwall Not known 1.60 Not knownLifeX: China Clay aggregates, South Dartmoor Area, Devon Not known 0.30Not knownSOURCE: Enquiries to mineral operators, February 2005Pattern of MovementPrimary Aggregates4.15 As noted in the SWRAWP Annual Report for 2001, all land-won and marine-dredged sand& gravel produced within the region was transported by road, but 24% of crushed rock wastransported by rail (largely into the South East region, but also within the South West) fromthe four rail-linked quarries in Somerset (Whatley and Torr), South Gloucestershire(Tytherington) and Devon (Meldon). Small amounts of limestone from Devon and igneousrock from Cornwall (amounting to just 1% of regional crushed rock production) were sent byCapita Symonds Limited page 9 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionship to the South East. These general patterns of movement are unlikely to have changedsignificantly since 2001, although no updated figures are yet available.4.16 The reason for the predominance of road transport, especially for sand & gravel, is thatthese are relatively low value, bulk materials, for which transport costs make up a largeproportion of the market price. In a competitive market, the additional cost of railtransportation (which is more expensive than road over relatively short distances) generallycannot be justified. The main exception to this is where rail transportation of crushed rockallows access to more distant markets in the South East where, because of higher demandand an absence of indigenous hard rock resources, higher prices can be obtained.4.17 The majority of sand & gravel consumption takes place within a few miles of its point oforigin, and at any given location, is required in quantities that are far too small to betransported by rail. Similar factors apply to the transportation of higher value products suchas ready-mixed concrete and asphalt. Limitations (including planning restrictions) on thelife expectancy of individual quarries (especially sand & gravel pits) also deter investment innew railhead facilities at these locations.4.18 Crushed rock, which may command a higher price than sand & gravel in certainapplications, is generally transported over longer distances, but again (and for the samereasons) this is largely by road. High specification aggregates, those which are capable ofbeing used to provide skid-resistant road surfaces, generally command the highest pricesand this allows them to be transported by road over much longer distances. In both ofthese cases, road is preferred to rail as a matter of convenience, since rail depots generallydo not exist close to the markets that need to be served. Movement by rail would thereforerequire double-handling and onward movement by road to the final destination.4.19 Greater use of rail might be envisaged in future, particularly if market prices rise, but thiswould require substantial investment (in the South West and elsewhere) in rail depots andunloading/transfer facilities at strategic market centres, as well as at quarries.China Clay Secondary Aggregates4.20 China clay aggregates, transported by road, play a very important role in the local (i.e.central & eastern Cornwall and south west Devon) aggregates market. Throughout thisarea, extending from around Redruth in the West to Camelford in the North and toPlymouth in the East, the material has successfully replaced primary aggregate in a widerange of applications, contributing at least 1.5 million tpa to an estimated total aggregatesmarket of around 3.5 million tpa.4.21 Coarse aggregate and some sands from china clay workings also travel further into midDevon and smaller but significant quantities of sand are transported by road for theproduction of reconstituted stone products in the Midlands. In these cases, the ‘buff’ colourand texture of the china clay sands are important attributes which enable the material tojustify the road haulage costs involved, at least in economic terms. (In terms ofsustainability, the justification is more questionable, because of the transportation impactsinvolved, and also the increased cement requirements associated with china clayaggregates, as compared with natural sand - see Appendix B).4.22 The aggregates levy, at £1.60 per tonne, equates to about 10 miles of road transportation.This increases the radius of penetration into the local market by this amount and effectivelymeans that most of the china clay workings become ‘coastal’ quarries, with much easieraccess to the port facilities at Par (and perhaps) Fowey docks.4.23 Small quantities of china clay aggregate have, for a number of years, been transported bysea from Par docks, near St. Austell, to ports such as Erith (Thames estuary), Rye,Capita Symonds Limited page 10 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionShoreham, Littlehampton, Southampton and Guernsey. The quantities involved havegrown steadily until a year ago, peaking at over 200,000 tpa in 2003. A very rapid increasein world shipping costs over the last 12 months has had a major impact however, and thequantity exported in 2004 is likely to be around 150,000 tonnes. This will fall further ifshipping costs continue to remain high.4.24 China clay aggregates from the Lee Moor area are also exported by sea from the docks atPomphlett, near Plymouth, but in much smaller quantities.4.25 Even before the recent increase in shipping costs, the transport of china clay aggregates bysea was a marginal operation, and exports to the south east of England, where prices arehighest, were only just able to break even. It follows that shorter journeys to ports withinthe South West and South Wales, where market prices are generally lower, would not beeconomically viable unless shipping prices fall significantly, or unless some kind ofsubsidies can be introduced to offset elements of the short-haul shipping costs. Thisconcept is explored further in Chapter 6.4.26 The exporting of china clay aggregates by sea depends for its profitability on obtainingreturn cargoes, but opportunities for this are very few. Opportunities are highest along thesouth coast and, more especially, from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp in Holland.There are virtually no opportunities, at present, from the ports of Bristol and South Wales.4.27 A further obstacle to the transport of aggregates by sea is the maximum size of vessel thatcan be accommodated at Par Docks. Cargoes of up to 3,400 tonnes can be carried in thelargest vessels on a spring tide. Payloads of up to 2,300 tonnes are more common and theaverage cargo size at present is around 1,500 tonnes. Aggregate is loaded directly fromlorries via converted china clay conveyor loading systems, rather than being stockpiled onthe quayside (though there is space for that).4.28 Much larger vessels can be accommodated at nearby Fowey docks, where Imerys alreadyhas large scale facilities for exporting china clay, but there is insufficient space on thequayside for aggregate loading facilities, and also a risk of blown sand from aggregatestockpiles contaminating the clay. Unlike Par, the Fowey Docks are not owned by Imerys,and would therefore be more costly to use.4.29 Rail transportation of china clay aggregates has not, hitherto, been consideredeconomically viable. This is partly due to the fact that the Tamar Bridge restricts individualpayloads to 900 tonnes, with mineral operators suggesting a need for wagons to bemarshalled into larger trains at Exeter before economical onward transport to other parts ofthe South West and adjoining regions can be achieved. This, however, would justify furtherinvestigation, as tonnages of less than this are known to be moved by train from Dorset.The steep inclines between Exeter and Plymouth, known collectively as the Devon Banksimpose further restrictions. Material sourced from the South Dartmoor area to the east ofPlymouth is unaffected by the Tamar Bridge but is still not transported by rail at present,and substantial investment in loading facilities (e.g. long conveyor systems to eliminatelocal road haulage to railhead) would be needed to make the rail export of china clayaggregates from this area a more economically attractive option.4.30 Rail transport costs to the quarry operators could be reduced if profitable back-haulagecargoes could be identified but, hitherto, this has not been achieved.Changes in rate of production4.31 Tables 4.3 and 4.4, below, show the changes in rates of production of both crushed rockand sand & gravel aggregates from 1985 to 2003. With the exception of the 2003 data,these are taken from the findings of successive AM surveys, which generally provide theCapita Symonds Limited page 11 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionmost reliable information. The 2003 data are taken from Business Monitor PA 1007,published by the Office of National Statistics, which, in turn, is derived from the ODPM’s(less detailed) Annual Mineral Raised Inquiry for 2003. Due to the limitations of the sourcedata, the figures can be shown only on an MPA basis, not for the more detailed breakdownof groups shown in Table 4.1.Table 4.3: Sales of Crushed Rock Aggregates (Mt) from AM Surveys, 1985 to 2003*1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2003*Avon 4.832 6.294 5.908 4.913 5.553 4.565Cornwall 1.870 2.862 1.584 1.251 1.687 2.192Devon 4.155 5.667 3.597 2.791 3.055 2.613Dorset 0.711 0.650 0.427 0.454 0.435Gloucestershire 1.616 2.856 2.399 2.358 2.192Withheld to avoiddisclosureWithheld to avoiddisclosureSomerset 12.667 19.884 15.278 11.667 13.987 11.671Wiltshire 0Included withDorsetIncluded withDorsetIncluded withDorsetIncluded withDorsetWithheld to avoiddisclosureTOTALS, SW 25.851 38.213 29.193 23.434 26.909 22.998*Note: 2003 data obtained from Business Monitor PA1007: Mineral Extraction in Great Britain.Table 4.4: Sales of Land - Won Sand & Gravel (Mt) from AM Surveys, 1985 to 2003*1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2003*Avon 0 0 0 0 0 0Cornwall 0.032Included withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonWithheld to avoiddisclosureDevon 1.075 1.715 1.084 0.907 1.172 1.215Dorset 2.168 2.515 1.502 1.496 1.812 1.493Gloucestershire 1.114 1.251 0.719 0.769 0.880 1.085SomersetIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevon0 0Withheld to avoiddisclosureWiltshire 1.159 1.299 0.810 1.349 1.410 0.922TOTALS, SW 5.548 6.781 4.115 4.521 5.274 5.875*Note: 2003 data obtained from Business Monitor PA1007: Mineral Extraction in Great Britain.4.32 The figures illustrate that aggregate production in general is significantly lower now than in1989 (the peak of a major construction boom in the 1980s), and that crushed rockproduction seems to have declined further since 2001. Sand & gravel production, bycontrast, has been rising steadily over the last decade.Capita Symonds Limited page 12 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionSub-Regional ApportionmentAnticipated scale of future demand4.33 The ODPM’s regional apportionment figures for the South West Region, for the period2001-2016, are for 106 Mt of land-won sand & gravel, and 453 Mt of crushed rock, withassumptions of 9 Mt marine sand & gravel and 121 Mt of alternative (secondary andrecycled) materials.4.34 It is important to note that the ODPM figures are only guidelines or ‘expectations’, and nothard targets that have to be achieved. The figures are, however, based on carefuleconomic forecasts of demand, including anticipated patterns of inter-regional transfer ofaggregates (notably into the South East), proportional in scale to those which already exist.In the absence of any robust alternative predictions, and despite the recent trends of fallingcrushed rock production, the ODPM’s figures are the best available guide to the likely scaleof future demand on aggregate sources within the South West.4.35 All of this must be seen in the context of the Government’s intention to move away from themechanistic ‘Predict and Provide’ approach to minerals planning, and towards a moresustainable ‘Plan, Monitor and Manage’ philosophy. In the text which follows, the ODPMguidelines are used as the basis for the ‘Scenario 1’ sub-regional apportionment, asdeveloped by the SWRAWP, but other approaches, including demand management, areintroduced in some of the alternative scenarios considered later in this report.4.36 The ODPM figure for crushed rock aggregate production in the South West represents asubstantial reduction compared with the 610 Mt allocated to the region for the period 1992-2006, whereas the figure for land-won sand & gravel production represents a very slightincrease (from 105 Mt). The assumption for marine aggregate landings in the South Westis reduced from 15 Mt in the previous period, whilst the assumption for alternative materialshas doubled from the previous 60 Mt (figures taken from the SWRAWP Annual Report2001, Table 1).4.37 Notwithstanding the overall reduction in expectations for primary aggregate productioncompared with the previous (1992-2006) monitoring period, the allocations for 2001-2016would require a significant increase in average annual production compared with the actualoutput figures recorded in the AM 2001 survey. In order to meet the ODPM’s expectations,the average annual production of crushed rock would need to be 28.31 Mt per year - morethan 6% greater than the actual output of 26.61 Mt in 2001 (from Table 4.1, above).Similarly, the average annual output of land-won sand & gravel within the South Westwould need to be 6.63 Mt, more than 26% greater than the actual figure of 5.25 Mt for2001.4.38 Whilst these differences might seem to indicate that it would be acceptable to anticipate alower level of demand, it must be remembered that the AM2001 figures reflect only a singleyear, and that the differences do not, therefore, necessarily mean that the ODPMexpectations are too high for the period as a whole.Sub-regional breakdown4.39 The requirements for individual MPAs - the sub-regional apportionment - reflect the overallrequirements outlined above, but they also reflect local factors relating to the availableproduction capacity, resource depletion, planning constraints and planning commitments.4.40 An initial proposal for this sub-regional apportionment (“Scenario 1”) was developed by theSWRAWP in October 2003, and is summarised in Table 4.5, below. This shows the size ofCapita Symonds Limited page 13 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionthe apportionment for each part of the region, together with the corresponding permittedreserves and the resulting surplus or shortfall of these over the 2001-2016 period, whencompared to the tonnages that would be required if the ODPM guidelines were to be met.The pattern is broadly the same as that highlighted in the previous section, but with morepronounced shortfalls because of the required increase in rate of production, compared to2001 levels. Significant shortfalls are identified in the future supply of sand & gravel in allareas, especially in Wiltshire and Dorset, but also in the supply of crushed rock inGloucestershire (relating primarily to the Carboniferous limestone sources in the Forest ofDean - Group D in Table 4.1). A more detailed analysis of this data is presented in thefollowing chapter (Table 5.2).Table 4.5: “Scenario 1” sub-regional apportionment by MPA, as proposed bySWRAWP, 2003CountySub-Regionalapportionment(Mt)CrushedRockPermittedaggregatereserves at activeand inactive sites,as at 31/12/01(Mt)Surplus (orShortfall) inpermittedreserves(Mt)Preferred Arearesources (inshortfall areas only)(Mt)‘Avon’ 94.95 245.10 150.15Cornwall 29.04 158.01 128.97Devon 55.99 201.14 145.15Dorset & Wiltshire 7.70 48.50 40.80Gloucestershire 39.09 31.10 -7.9922.7 in Forest of Dean16.5 in CotswoldsSomerset 226.18 696.1 469.92TOTALCRUSHED ROCK453 1380 927 39CountySub-Regionalapportionment(Mt)Sand& GravelPermittedaggregatereserves at activeand inactive sites,as at 31/12/01(Mt)Surplus (orShortfall) inpermittedreserves(Mt)Preferred Arearesources (inshortfall areas only)(Mt)Devon & Somerset 21.80 15.39 -6.41 0Cornwall 0 0 0 0Dorset 36.35 27.20 -9.15 5.30Gloucestershire 18.18 11.80 -6.38 11.00Wiltshire 29.66 11.26 -18.40 4.20TOTAL SAND &GRAVEL106 66 -40 214.41 Table 4.6, below, compares the average annual rate of production required to meet thesesub-regional apportionment figures (i.e. the apportionment totals divided by 16 years: 2001to 2016 inclusive) with the actual rates of production in each part of the region in 2001. The2001 figures are taken from Table 5 in the SWRAWP Annual Report 2001 and, asexplained earlier, these differ slightly from the latest information provided by the RAWP forthe same period (as used in Table 4.1, above).Capita Symonds Limited page 14 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 4.6: “Scenario 1” expectations compared to actual output in 2001CountySub-Regionalapportionment(Mt)CrushedRockAverage AnnualProductionRequired(Mt)AnnualProduction in2001(Mt)% Change from 2001figures required tomeet newapportionmentexpectations‘Avon’ 94.95 5.93 5.55 +6.93%Cornwall 29.04 1.82 1.69 +7.40%Devon 55.99 3.50 3.05 +14.73%Dorset & Wiltshire 7.70 0.48 0.44 +9.38%Gloucestershire 39.09 2.50 2.20 +13.61%Somerset 226.18 14.14 13.99 +1.05%TOTALCRUSHED ROCKCounty453 28.37 26.92 +5.37%Sub-Regionalapportionment(Mt)Sand& GravelAverage AnnualProductionRequired(Mt)AnnualProduction in2001(Mt)% Change from 2001Figures required tomeet newapportionmentexpectationsDevon & Somerset 21.80 1.36 1.17 +16.45%Cornwall 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00%Dorset 36.35 2.27 1.81 +25.52%Gloucestershire 18.18 1.14 0.88 +29.12%Wiltshire 29.66 1.85 1.45 +27.84%TOTAL SAND &GRAVEL106 6.62 5.31 +24.75%4.42 It is the ‘Scenario 1’ expectations, as shown in this table, which need to form the ‘baseline’against which each of the potential alternative supply strategies need to be compared, andit is important to recognise that these are significantly higher than the actual output figuresrecorded for 2001, especially for land-won sand & gravel. In the following chapter (Table5.1), the percentage increases between the two (from Table 4.6, above) are used to guidethe more detailed breakdown of output from Table 4.1 to define the Scenario 1 supplypattern in as much detail as possible. The more detailed breakdown, particularly of thecrushed rock production, was felt to be a more useful starting point for consideringalternative supply patterns, since there are large differences in the suitability of differentcrushed rock sources for different end use requirements. These differences are examinedwithin the following section.Potential for Substitution4.43 The potential for substitution relates partly to the technical capabilities of alternativematerials to fulfil the same function as those which they would replace, and the availabilityof these alternatives in terms of production capacity and planning restrictions. In thecontext of finding a more sustainable solution, the economic, social and environmentalimplications of each alternative material (and its transportation and in-service performance)must also be taken into account, but those issues are dealt with separately in Chapter 6.The following text thus focuses only on the availability and technical suitability forsubstitution for each of the alternative materials under consideration.Capita Symonds Limited page 15 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionSubstitution of crushed limestone in the Forest of Dean by crushed limestone fromSouth Gloucestershire and South Wales4.44 As noted in Table 4.5, above, there is a potential shortfall of crushed rock reserves inGloucestershire, compared with ODPM guidelines for the period up to 2016 and, asdemonstrated in more detail in Chapter 5, this primarily concerns the shortfall ofCarboniferous Limestone within the Forest of Dean quarries (Group D in Table 4.1). Thereare, however, opportunities for this shortfall to be accommodated, on a like-for-like basis,by increased production from the Carboniferous Limestone quarries in SouthGloucestershire (Group E) and/or those in neighbouring parts of Wales. Enquiries to someof the main producers has confirmed that sources in both areas have sufficient surplusreserves and output capacity to meet the necessary requirements without changes to theirexisting planning permissions or processing plant.Substitution of natural sand & gravel by crushed rock from hard rock quarries4.45 As demonstrated in Table 4.5, above, there is a substantial overall surplus of permittedreserves of crushed rock within parts of the South West, over and above that required forthe period from 2001 to 2016. This applies especially to the Carboniferous Limestonequarries in the Mendips, but is also true for virtually all of the crushed rock sourcesidentified in Table 4.1, except for the limestone in the Forest of Dean, noted above.4.46 Crushed rock products from all of these sources can generally substitute for ‘sharp’ naturalsand & gravel in most applications, including concrete production, mortar, building sand,and filter media. The same is not always true for natural ‘soft’ sand, however, and there area number of specialised applications where only the traditional sand & gravel materialswould be acceptable. The implication of this is that some extraction of these traditionalmaterials would need to continue, with careful ‘husbanding’ of the diminishing resource tosafeguard it for these special purposes.4.47 More generally, the substitution of natural sand with fine aggregate produced from crushedrock would be likely to meet with a significant degree of market resistance and alternativesources of substitution (such as other land based or marine natural sands, or secondarysands from china clay workings) would generally be preferred for at least someapplications. In practice, there would probably be scope for blending reduced quantities ofsand from traditional sources with alternative materials, so as to minimise the effect on endusers and construction products, and operators with access to both traditional andalternative sources may well seek to do this in order to retain their customer base.4.48 In the case of mortar and concrete applications, there are potential economic and wider(global) sustainability factors that need to be taken into account, because of the increasedrequirement for cement when switching from natural sand to crushed rock aggregate. Thisis because cement production is costly, consumes large amounts of energy and releasescarbon into the atmosphere (see Appendix B for further details). The differences can besignificant when switching from very soft natural sand to crushed hard rock, but less sowhen switching from sharp natural sand (which predominates in the shortfall areas withinWiltshire and Gloucestershire).Substitution of natural sand & gravel by crushed rock from building stone quarries4.49 Aggregate that is produced as a by-product of building stone production within the SouthWest is generally only suitable for very low grade applications, such as bulk fill. The rock isgenerally too weak for use in concrete and other constructional uses, and is alsosusceptible to frost damage. In most cases the material is produced only at very slow ratesCapita Symonds Limited page 16 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region(commensurate with the production of building stone) and therefore does not provide anyreal security or continuity of supply.4.50 Exceptions to this occur at a small number of sites where the quarries are specificallygeared up for larger scale aggregate production (notably at Daglingworth and Huntsmansquarries in Gloucestershire). The aggregate from these sites is used in a wider range ofproducts, including some road construction applications, some types of concrete and highervalue reconstituted stone products (see Appendix A). None of these sources, however, canbe used for as wide a range of uses and specifications as the main hard rock resourcessuch as Carboniferous Limestone.4.51 In some building stone areas, notably on Portland, specific planning policies prevent therelease of new stone reserves for ‘non-traditional’ uses (such as aggregate production),although aggregates are still produced from some of the extant permissionsSubstitution of natural sand & gravel by slate waste4.52 The Cornish slate quarrying industry has declined substantially over the last century andonly four active quarries now remain. As noted in Appendix A, approximately 200,000tonnes per year of slate waste arisings from these quarries are available for use asaggregates, but these are suitable only for very low grade applications, such as bulk fill,pipe bedding etc. Although some of the slate waste in other areas, such as north Wales, iscapable of being used in higher value applications, such as sub-base, concrete and evencoated macadam roadbases, this does not seem to be the case in the South West, wherethe slate waste is generally a somewhat weaker material.Substitution of natural sand & gravel and crushed rock by china clay aggregate4.53 China clay aggregates have already substantially replaced primary coarse aggregates fromtraditional Cornish granite quarries (being a very similar material, but exempt from theaggregates levy). China clay sand also has a long tradition of being used instead of naturalsand for concreting, mortar and building sand. As with crushed rock aggregates, though toa lesser extent, the material has more angular grains than natural sand and thus requires agreater quantity of cement to be used in the production of mortar and concrete. In theareas where china clay sand has traditionally been used for such purposes, this has onlyminor implications, as there are few natural alternatives available. If china clay sand wereto be used in place of natural sand in other areas, however, consideration would need to begiven to the sustainability implications of the resulting change in cement requirements,depending on the nature of the material being replaced (see Appendix B for furtherdiscussion).4.54 For other end uses and aggregate types, the degree of substitution by china clay sand hasbeen limited, to varying degrees, by specification requirements and economicconsiderations. Primary aggregates have to be relied upon for high PSV (skid-resistant)road surfacing materials and are also still predominant in other types of asphalt production.In the latter case, china clay sands could theoretically be used as the fine aggregatefraction but there is an economic imperative for the asphalt producers to use crushed rockfines from their own quarries instead.4.55 The china clay sand producers believe that they have achieved market saturation within thelocal area and that the only way of supplying more would be to transport the materialfurther. Significant potential markets (currently served by Cornish granite quarries) remainto the west of Redruth, but road transportation to these areas is generally uneconomic atpresent, not least because of the competition from the local granite quarries. It follows thatCapita Symonds Limited page 17 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionroad transportation of china clay aggregates to the main shortfall areas in east Dorset andGloucestershire would be highly uneconomic, and therefore most unlikely to happen.4.56 Further market penetration by road would be encouraged by future increases in theaggregates levy. This might not, necessarily, lead to a more sustainable solution overall,however, since it would result in traditional local sources being displaced from the marketand an overall increase in road transportation. This, in turn, would be reflected in increasedcosts and energy consumption, depletion of fossil fuels, increased emissions and increasedtraffic nuisance - all of which would have detrimental social and economic as well asenvironmental impacts.4.57 Rail transportation could theoretically help to overcome those disadvantages but, asexplained earlier (para. 4.29), this has not been considered economically viable to date,simply because of the very low market value of bulk secondary aggregates. Transportingby sea could also be a more sustainable way of delivering china clay aggregates directlyinto east Dorset (via Poole or Weymouth) and perhaps into north Gloucestershire (viaGloucester or Sharpness docks, although landing facilities there are minimal). Asexplained earlier, such short distance sea transportation is simply not economically viableat present, but this could change in future and consideration is given in Chapter 6 of thisreport as to the potential for subsidising some of these costs in the interests of stimulatingmarine transport options.Increased exports of china clay aggregate by sea to South East England4.58 Increased exports of china clay aggregate by sea, to the South East of England, couldpotentially help to reduce the South East’s demand for its own indigenous sand & graveldeposits, which in turn might then become more readily available to offset the shortfall ofthese materials in the eastern part of the South West region.4.59 Exports are only likely to increase, however, if shipping costs are reduced and/or if marketprices for primary aggregate increase (e.g. through future increases in the aggregateslevy). Imerys currently has plans for the long term charter of two new 2,300 tonne vesselsfrom 2006/2007, which will help to shield the business from further rises in world shippingcosts. Significant cost reductions and greater export volumes could also theoretically beachieved if larger 10,000 tonne vessels could be used, but this would not be of economicalor practical use for local shipments within the south west and could only be achieved byconstructing a deep water loading facility outside the existing harbour at Par. Considerationhas been given to this by Imerys, as well as to the construction of additional new berthswithin the existing docks to create an additional 750,000 tpa capacity, but these plans arecurrently shelved, pending strategic investment funding from the Government and othersources.Substitution of land-based sand & gravel by marine-dredged aggregate4.60 Land-based and marine-dredged aggregates are fundamentally very similar materials,deposited initially by similar processes, with the main difference being that the marinesediments are often cleaner and more highly sorted into narrow grading classes by theconstant action of tidal currents and/or the effects of waves. It therefore follows that marineaggregates can easily substitute for land based sand & gravel, providing that material of therequired grading can be obtained. The main practical difficulties to be overcome inachieving this substitution are associated with delivering the material to suitable wharffacilities in locations that are close the areas of demand.4.61 There are also important environmental issues to be considered, particularly regarding theimpacts of dredging on marine biodiversity, littoral sediment transport processes andCapita Symonds Limited page 18 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionchanges in coastal geomorphology. As demonstrated in previous work by Symonds GroupLimited for the Welsh Assembly, regarding dredging in the Bristol Channel, these are verycomplex issues and are far beyond the scope of this study to consider in any detail. Inrecognition of this it would be sensible for the ODPM to develop a marine aggregatesdredging policy comparable (in principle) to that recently developed for the Bristol Channelby the Welsh Assembly Government.Substitution of natural sand & gravel by recycled aggregates4.62 As demonstrated in a more detailed previous study by Symonds Group Ltd for the WelshAssembly, very little opportunity exists for the substitution of natural sand by recycledmaterials. Increasingly, however recycled aggregates from well managed sources cansubstitute for the coarse aggregate (gravel) fraction used in concrete and, more generally,for use in lower grade applications. As demonstrated in the following section, however,current arisings of materials that are good enough for these purposes are relatively limitedand are already fully utilised, though there is some scope for future improvement.Recycled Construction, Demolition & Excavation Materials4.63 During the Spring of 2004 Capita Symonds carried out a national ‘Survey of Arisings andUse of Construction, Demolition and Excavation Waste as Aggregate in England in 2003’for ODPM. The findings of that survey were published in October 2004 by ODPM with thetitle given above, ISBN 1 85112 745 3. The estimates given in that report for ‘hard’ C&Dand excavation materialsa in the South West region are summarised in Table 4.7, below.4.64 Of the various totals given in that table, only the first one is directly of relevance to thisstudy. Before considering the likely sub-regional breakdown of this figure, it is first useful toconsider the reliability of the survey method and the accuracy of the results obtained at theRegional level.4.65 The overall recycling rate reported in the ODPM study for the South West (50.9 %)matched very closely the national rate (50.0 %). Table 4.8, below compares the resultsfrom the South West with those for England as a whole for several key indicators (whichare the same as the sub-totals in Table 4.7).4.66 The most notable difference between the South West and the rest of England is thebalance between use of mainly clean excavation waste to backfill quarry voids, and the useof the same type of material on registered exempt sites, largely as engineering and generalfill.4.67 Another measure of the degree of similarity between the estimates for the South West andthe pattern of national estimates is provided in Table 4.9, below. The two final indicators arepurely to set the others in context.a Most materials resulting from the demolition, excavation and site preparation processes meet the BritishGovernment's definition of waste (which in turn is based on the European Waste Framework Directive,75/442/EEC as amended), as do discarded construction materials. Collectively, these materials are referredto in this report as CDEW (construction, demolition and excavation waste). Once separated, the 'hard'fraction of CDEW that is suitable for recycling as aggregate is generally referred to as ‘material’ rather than‘waste’, whatever its legal and regulatory status. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) haspublished a 'Quality Protocol for the production of aggregates from inert waste', which establishes amechanism, agreed with the Environment Agency and others, for establishing when CDEW which isprocessed ceases to be regulated as waste.Capita Symonds Limited page 19 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 4.7: Estimates for the re-use, recycling and disposal of hard construction,demolition and excavation arisings in the South West of England in 2003Category of Material‘000 tonnesHard C&D / excavation waste crushed and/or screened for use as aggregate 4,473Excavation waste / mixed CDEW screened for use as soil 617Sub-total 1: Recycled aggregate and soil 5,090Hard C&D waste used for landfill engineering or restoration 73Excavation waste used for landfill engineering or restoration 520Mixed CDEW (or unspecified material) used for landfill engineering or restoration 79Sub-total 2: Material used for landfill engineering or restoration 672Hard C&D waste used to backfill quarry voids 93Excavation waste used to backfill quarry voids 713Mixed CDEW (or unspecified material) used to backfill quarry voids 153Sub-total 3: Material used to back-fill quarry voids 959Hard C&D waste (excluding road planings) spread on registered exempt sites 229Clean, unmixed excavation waste spread on registered exempt sites 1,578Mixed CDEW spread on registered exempt sites 605Sub-total 4: Material used at Paragraph 9&19 registered exempt sites 2,412Clean, unmixed hard C&D waste disposed of at landfills 39Mixed and/or contaminated hard C&D waste disposed of at landfills 43Clean excavation waste disposed of at landfills 281Mixed and/or contaminated excavation waste disposed of at landfills 182Mixed CDEW and unspecified materials disposed of at landfills 331Sub-total 5: Material disposed of at landfills 875Total 10,007Table 4.8: Comparison of estimates for the re-use, recycling and disposal of hardconstruction, demolition and excavation arisings in the South West with comparableestimates for England as a whole in 2003Indicator SW EnglandRecycled aggregate and soil as % of CDEW 50.9 % 50.0 %Material used for landfill engineering or restoration as % of CDEW 6.7 % 7.1 %Material used to backfill quarry voids as % of CDEW 9.6 % 14.7 %Material used at Para 9&19 registered exempt sites as % of CDEW 24.1 % 18.1 %Material disposed of at landfills as % of CDEW 8.7 % 10.1 %Capita Symonds Limited page 20 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 4.9: Comparison of estimates for the re-use, recycling and disposal of hardconstruction, demolition and excavation arisings in the South West with comparableestimates for England as a whole in 2003IndicatorSW as % ofEnglandRecycled aggregate and soil 11.2 %Material used for landfill engineering or restoration 10.4 %Material used to backfill quarry voids 7.1 %Material used at Para 9&19 registered exempt sites 14.7 %Material disposed of at landfills 9.5 %All CDEW 11.0 %Regional population 10.0 %Regional Gross Value Added 8.9 %4.68 The conclusion from these comparisons is that the estimates for the South West are verymuch in line with reasonable expectations.4.69 As with all survey results, these estimates come with a degree of uncertainty, however. Forthe most important figure (Hard C&D / excavation waste crushed and/or screened for useas aggregate) the estimate is 4.47 million tonnes ± 17 % at a confidence interval of 90 %.This is equivalent to saying “based on the data collected, there is only a 1-in-10 chance thatthe true figure is less than 3.71 million tonnes, or more than 5.23 million tonnes”.Sub-regional Breakdown4.70 In all statistical surveys, the smaller the sub-groups into which a population is split, the lessprecise the estimates for those sub-groups become. This is particularly true for a materiallike recycled aggregate, which is predominantly produced using mobile crushers. Bothdemolition waste for processing and the mobile crushers which process it crossadministrative boundaries in the course of normal business. Since the typical traveldistance is no more than 15-20 km, the impact of such movements on regional estimates isnot particularly severe. Within regions, however, such impacts are greatly magnified.4.71 This is exemplified in the case of the South West region by the influence of the Mendipregion, which is home to several relatively large fleets of mobile crushers, some of whichwork wholly or mainly in quarries, some of which work both in quarries and with demolitionwaste, and some of which work wholly or mainly with demolition waste.4.72 The survey carried out by Capita Symonds for ODPM contacted the operators of 97 preidentifiedcrushers based within the South West, and replies were received from 59 of these(a response rate substantially above the national average). Once non-recycling activity hadbeen taken into account, it was concluded that the equivalent of 89 recycling crushers wereactive in the South West.4.73 The survey provided good evidence that crushers in urban areas (defined as those with apopulation density greater than 1,000 persons per square km) have throughputs almost20 % higher than those in rural areas. However, with more crushers active in rural areas,the average production per capita was higher in rural than in urban areas (though this isdue in part to urban demolition waste being processed in less densely populated areas ofurban fringe). This distinction between urban and rural areas was central to the way inwhich the estimate of 4.47 million tonnes of recycled aggregate in the South West wascalculated.Capita Symonds Limited page 21 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region4.74 All local authority areas within the South West can be characterised as rural or urban on thebasis of their population densities, with the following result:• all of the districts in Cornwall are rural;• in Devon (excluding the two Unitary Authorities), Exeter is urban and all other areas are rural;• Plymouth and Torbay are both urban;• in Dorset (excluding the two Unitary Authorities), Weymouth & Portland is urban and all otherareas are rural;• Bournemouth and Poole are both urban;• in Somerset (excluding the two Unitary Authorities) all districts are rural;• Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset are both rural;• Bristol is urban;• in Gloucestershire (excluding South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority) Gloucester andCheltenham are both urban and all other districts are rural;• South Gloucestershire is rural;• in Wiltshire (excluding Swindon Unitary Authority) all districts are rural;• Swindon Unitary Authority is rural;• the Isles of Scilly are rural.4.75 Applying the South West region’s average per capita production of recycled aggregate inrural and urban areas (1,140 kg per capita and 349 kg per capita respectively) to thepopulation of each local authority area produces the following sub regional estimates forrecycled aggregates produced from hard C&D waste arisings:Table 4.10: Sub-regional estimates for the production of recycled aggregate fromcrushed hard construction, demolition and excavation arisings in the South West in2003 (using current administrative boundaries)Sub-regionThousandtonnes ofrecycledaggregateproducedKg recycledaggregateper person insub-regionCornwall 569 1,140Devon (including Torbay and Plymouth) 845 1,272Dorset (including Bournemouth and Poole) 501 723Somerset (including Bath & NE Somerset and North Somerset) 975 1,139Bristol 133 349Gloucestershire (including South Gloucestershire) 750 926Wiltshire (including Swindon) 699 1,140Isles of Scilly 2 1,000Total 4,473 9084.76 Table 4.11, below, presents the same information, but divided along the lines of the formeradministrative boundaries (i.e. with BANES, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire andBristol all grouped together as ‘Avon’).Capita Symonds Limited page 22 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 4.11: Sub-regional estimates for the production of recycled aggregate fromcrushed hard construction, demolition and excavation arisings in the South West in2003 (using old administrative boundaries)Sub-regionThousandtonnes ofrecycledaggregateproducedKg recycledaggregateper person insub-regionCornwall 569 1,140Devon (including Torbay and Plymouth) 845 1,272Dorset (including Bournemouth and Poole) 501 723Somerset (excluding Bath & NE Somerset and North Somerset) 568 1,140Former county of Avon 820 833Gloucestershire (excluding South Gloucestershire) 470 832Wiltshire (including Swindon) 699 1,140Isles of Scilly 2 1,000Total 4,473 9084.77 It must be emphasised that these are estimates, not facts, and they estimate whereaggregates are processed, not where they arise. This is why the urban per capita figure islower than its rural equivalent. The estimate for Cornwall may well be an overestimate,because there are no major conurbations from which rural areas can draw demolition wastefor processing, and the same may well be true for large parts of Devon and Somerset.However, any alternative method of sub-dividing the regional figures would bring with itdifferent drawbacks.4.78 It is also clear from the location of authorised crushers that Dorset relies more than mostcounties on crushers from neighbouring counties (probably including Hampshire as well asneighbouring counties within the South West).4.79 The 2003 survey did not seek information on the uses to which the recycled aggregate isput, though previous surveys have confirmed that recycled aggregate is generally used inunbound applications as a substitute for crushed rock and scalpings, including use as subbaseand base course in roads and car parks.4.80 Where significant volumes of clean unmixed concrete are available for crushing (as, forexample, where a large concrete floor slab or airport runway is being removed) the crushedmaterial can be recycled directly into new concrete, and there have been practicalinstances of this in the South West over recent years.4.81 Where brick, soil or other materials are mixed with the concrete, this option is unlikely to bepractical. Where there is a need for unbound aggregate, recycled materials can oftenprovide an economic and effective source of material.4.82 In future, the proportion of all CD&E waste arisings that will be able to be utilised in this waycould conceivably rise, as the recycling ‘industry’ becomes more effective in making bestuse of available technology and as recycling policies and other initiatives help to promotethe unnecessary mixing of different types of material as they are generated on constructionand demolition sites. The total quantity of CD&E waste arisings could also conceivably riseif there were more emphasis, in future, on the redevelopment of previously used land inpreference to new, ‘greenfield’ sites.4.83 Set against these possible trends, however, is the fact that, in future, the demolition ofrelatively modern, steel-framed industrial and commercial buildings will generate lessCapita Symonds Limited page 23 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionmaterial for recycling as aggregates than the older, brick, stone and concrete buildings thatare being demolished at present. Similarly, the demolition of concrete pavements fromformer airfields, which has generated significant quantities of high quality recycledaggregate in the South West in recent years, will not continue indefinitely.Wharf Capacities & Marine Aggregates4.84 RPG10 (2001) specifically notes that:“The port of Bristol could play a broader role in the import of marine dredged or otheraggregate materials. The city offers scope for recycling aggregates: it has good transportinfrastructure and a strategic position with respect to markets for aggregates in the SouthWest and beyond”.4.85 A much wider range of other port facilities also need to be considered, however, since, aspreviously noted, the road transport costs of moving low value bulk materials can beprohibitively expensive and it is essential to land seaborne materials as close as possible totheir point of use.4.86 Set against this consideration is the fact that short distance transportation by sea isrelatively uneconomic: most of the costs are incurred during handling and it thereforemakes sense to transport the material as far as possible, once it has been loaded,providing that this allows the material to reach larger markets with higher prices. Thesedifficulties could potentially be reduced by providing targeted subsidies to offset some of theport charges at ports within the region, and this concept is explored, later in this report, asone of the scenarios for developing alternative supply patterns.Mineral Rights and Licensing4.87 The Crown Estate owns the mineral rights to most marine aggregates in English and Welshwaters. ODPM and the National Assembly for Wales control the licences in English watersand Welsh waters respectively. The Crown Estate invites applications to tender on anannual time frame at its discretion. Applications must then be submitted to the ODPMalong with an Environmental Statement (ES). Individual licences, when granted, relate to aspecific area of the seabed and are expressed in terms of an annual permitted rate ofextraction, for a specified number of years. Two or more licences held by differentoperators may therefore run concurrently within the same licensed area. The Crown Estatereceives an agreed royalty, based on the actual tonnages extracted (which are often lessthan the permitted maximum rates). Licences can be granted to EU registered companiesalthough current licences are predominantly held by UK registered companies.4.88 Although the permitted and actual rates of extraction are published by the Crown Estate,along with the landings (from all licensed areas) at individual ports, the total permitted‘reserves’ at any one time are not published. Table 4.12, below, is therefore unable toshow figures for these reserves, or their current life expectancy, but it does provide figuresfor all landings of marine aggregates in the South West Region in 2001, from both theBristol Channel and South Coast dredging areas. A more detailed breakdown of thesefigures is given below.Capita Symonds Limited page 24 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 4.12: Licensed Reserves and Annual Landings (in 2001) for Groups ofMarine-Dredged Primary Aggregate Sources Supplying to South West EnglandGroups of Sources2001 LicensedReserves2001Landings inSW Region2001LandingsSub-Totals(see Figure 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) (Mt) (yrs)LifeS: South Coast Licence Areas N/A 0.10T: Bristol Channel Licence Areas N/A 0.53Totals (Mt) 0.630.63SOURCE: The Crown Estate4.89 The present licensing procedure is due to be replaced and ODPM anticipate that a newmarine bill will be developed following the next general election. Although the form andscope of this is uncertain at present, the European Community is pushing for marine spatialplanning which would change the approach, bringing marine aggregates under the controlof Mineral Planning Authorities, with implications for future minerals planning for landbased,as well as marine aggregates.Details: Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary4.90 The Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary dredging areas comprise 4 areas, Outer BristolChannel, Central Bristol Channel, Inner Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The currentlicences within these areas comprise:(i) Severn Estuary (Middleground) – Currently extracting.(ii) Holm Sands - Depleted(iii) Culver Sands – Currently extracting.(iv) Nash Sands – Currently extracting but the rate is to be decreased from 2006, inline with concerns identified in research for the Welsh Assembly, and extraction islikely to cease by 2010.(v) St Govan’s Head – Currently extracting.4.91 The Bristol Channel area is divided into English and Welsh waters, inclusive of the seabed,and an attitude of national ownership (compounded by national need, in the case of Wales)means that, although not required by licensing law, material tends to be landed at ports ofthe corresponding nation. Only a small proportion of the marine aggregates extracted fromthe Bristol Channel is therefore landed in South West England. The following tonnageswere landed in 2001:(i) Appledore - 97,980t(ii) Avonmouth - 390,442t(iii) Bridgwater - 37,880tTOTAL LANDED IN SW FROM BRISTOL CHANNEL: 526,282t4.92 Together, the total quantities landed in South West ports from the Bristol Channel licenceareas has varied over recent years from 574,132 in 1998 to 488,571 in 2002. The figure for2001, quoted above, is therefore reasonably representative of recent fluctuations, thoughthere is clearly some capacity for greater tonnages to be landed.4.93 The potential for increased landings of marine aggregates varies from one port to another.At Appledore, there are currently no plans to increase landings and little potential for thefurther development of wharf facilities. The market that can economically be served byroad from Appledore is adequately covered by the current level of supply.Capita Symonds Limited page 25 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region4.94 At Avonmouth, by contrast, there is very considerable spare capacity within the existingport facilities for increased landings of both marine dredged and imported land-wonaggregates (such as crushed rock from coastal ‘superquarries’ in Scotland), and also thecapacity for market expansion within both Bristol and its hinterland. Again, transport is thecontrolling factor on the radius that can be served, though this could be increasedsubstantially if aggregate was transported by rail and/or by water: both opportunities existfrom the Avonmouth Docks, where the freight transfer facilities have recently beenimproved. This would be worthy of more detailed examination.4.95 At Bridgwater there is little potential for expansion in capacity as the port is small. Thereare also plans to install a flood barrier for storm surge protection up river, which may causesiltation, restricting the size of ships that can be accommodated, in terms of both breadthand draft. As with Appledore, the market that can economically be served by road from isadequately covered by the current level of supply and there are no alternatives to roadhaulage in this area.4.96 Gloucester has some (very limited) potential for landing marine aggregates but is notcurrently utilised. Aggregates dredged from the nearby ‘Severn Sands’ licence area withinthe upper Severn estuary are currently landed in South Wales rather than Gloucester.4.97 In terms of opportunities for increased levels of extraction within the Bristol Channel,several applications are currently being considered in the offshore (Outer Bristol Channel)areas, including Culver Sands and North Bristol Deep. If approved, these would potentiallybe able to supply additional quantities into the south west but this would probably only befeasible for supplies into Avonmouth, not only because of the limited capacity at other ports,but also because of economic constraints on dredging operations.4.98 Ports along the Bristol Channel have a very large tidal range and it is only possible for shipsto enter and leave the ports at high tide. Current dredging operations are therefore gearedto the optimum cycle time of 12 hours between dredging, landing material and returning tothe licence area. Dredging further offshore would require longer cycle times (36 hours fordredging in the Outer Bristol Channel). To remain economically viable, such operationswould require larger ships and therefore larger wharf capacity. This would only be feasible,at present, at Avonmouth Docks and at Royal Portbury docks on the opposite side of theriver Avon.4.99 It would also not be feasible to transport mineral from the Bristol Channel round to theSouth coast on a regular basis, due to adverse sea conditions (though small quantitiescould probably be delivered at times when the dredgers return to Southampton formaintenance and other operational reasons).4.100 Increased marine aggregate supplies could also be influenced by National Policies. Inparticular, the National Assembly for Wales has developed the Marine Aggregate DredgingPolicy, which considers not only sediment environments in Wales, but also six others thatstraddle the boundary between England and Wales and two within English waters. Welshpolicy might therefore affect future supplies to England, although it has no statutory effect inEnglish waters and opinion among MPAs in the South West is split as to its likelysignificance. Some, however, believe that this highlights the need for ODPM to develop itsown dredging policy for the Bristol Channel, so that the position is clarified.Details: South Coast4.101 Current Licence Areas along the South Coast are located to the west, east and south westof the Isle of White. Larger tonnages are landed in England from these sources than fromthe Bristol Channel areas, though the vast majority of this is landed and used within theSouth East. Some, however, is landed at Poole Harbour within the South West, and largerCapita Symonds Limited page 26 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionquantities are landed in adjoining parts of the South East, particularly in Southampton,some of which might ultimately be used within the easternmost part of the South WestRegion. The following tonnages were landed in 2001:(i) Poole Harbour – 103,591t(ii) Southampton – 874,103tTOTAL LANDED IN SW FROM SOUTH COAST: 103,591t4.102 Virtually no material is currently landed at ports to the west of Poole Harbour, althoughsome has occasionally been landed at Portland and at Plymouth. This appears to bebecause of economic factors rather than a lack of port facilities: for similar transportdistances, the material can be delivered to markets in the South East, where prices aresignificantly higher than those in the South West.4.103 Together, the total quantities landed in South West ports from the South Coast licenceareas has recently varied from 50,329 in the year 2000 to 103,591 in 2001. The 2001figure quoted above is therefore at the upper end of this range.Future Development Potential4.104 Figure 4.4, below, summarises the recent trends in permitted and actual marine extractionwithin Southern and South West England, illustrating a general decrease in permittedannual tonnages from the Bristol Channel area (“South West”) and an increase in that fromthe South Coast, with corresponding trends in the number of licence areas involved in eacharea (shown by crosses on the graph). In terms of the tonnages actually extracted,however, these have changed very little, indicating that there is substantial spare capacitywithin the existing licences to produce additional quantities of marine aggregates,especially from the South Coast dredging areas. In practice, however, this potential islimited by the existing capacity of the dredging fleet (see below).Figure 4.4: Permitted and Extracted Tonnages fromSouth and South West Licence AreasTonnage14,000,00012,000,00010,000,0008,000,0006,000,0004,000,0002,000,00001997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Year232119171513119Number of LicenceAreasPermitted South WestExtracted South WestPermitted South CoastExtracted South CoastSouth West Licence AreasSouth Coast Licence Areas4.105 The current rates of extraction are broadly matched to the capacity of the dredging fleet foroptimum efficiency. Thus, whilst several new licence applications currently are beingconsidered in the South Coast Region Dredging Area, neither these nor the spareextraction capacity within existing licences are likely to result in additional material beingsupplied into the south west region unless additional shipping capacity is made available.That capacity, in turn, is based on current perceptions of only a limited market for marineCapita Symonds Limited page 27 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionaggregates within the South West. For that perception to change would require greatereconomic incentive than currently exists.4.106 To some extent, this might eventually be provided by changing market conditions, forexample if the anticipated shortfall of land-based gravel within Dorset and Wiltshire is notresolved by releasing new reserves in those areas. In the short term, some of the shortfallcould perhaps be accommodated within the small amount of spare capacity that existswithin the current fleet. For example, ships returning to Southampton for maintenance afterdredging within the Bristol Channel could discharge occasional cargoes of sand intoWeymouth or Poole Harbour, for onward movement by road into the local market areas.4.107 In the longer term, if there was a clear policy shift away from land based extraction withinthe shortfall areas, this might give sufficient incentive for the capacity of the dredging fleetto be increased, so that more material from the existing licensed areas could be broughtinto the South West.4.108 In the much longer term, further prospecting in areas off the South West coast may wellidentify resources that could be developed for supplying much greater quantities of materialinto local ports within the region. This has not been undertaken in the past, but again thishas been at least partly because of a perceived lack of market opportunities in the SouthWest. That, again, may change as exploitable land-based resources become scarcer, butprobably not until the latter part of the period to be covered by the RSS (i.e. to 2026). Thisis partly because of the time and investment needed to adequately identify the quality andquantity of potential reserves, and the much greater time and costs involved in obtainingthe necessary licence for extraction. Detailed Environmental Impact Assessments areneeded to support such applications and the whole process can take anything up to 10years within the current licensing regime.4.109 In the South West there is likely to be particular sensitivity regarding potential impacts towell-established industries such as tourism and fisheries, and there are also majorenvironmental sensitivities to dredging within the Bristol Channel.4.110 Investment in and development of resources off the South West coast will require a positivepolicy statement to be issued, within the RSS, to the effect that such proposals will bepositively supported as part of the wider spatial strategy for a sustainable pattern of futureaggregates supply for the South West Region. That, in turn, could only be done afterconsidering the relative sustainability of this option against other supply scenarios. Thelater chapters of this report begin to address those issues but a far more detailed androbust assessment would be needed to justify such policies within the RSS.4.111 The necessary investment in both new dredging licences and shipping capacity (for alltypes of aggregate transport, not just dredged material) could also be encouraged throughthe use of financial instruments. An increase in the rate of the aggregates levy, forexample, would increase the advantage already given to china clay aggregates, but wouldnot specifically encourage the more sustainable use of this material within the south west:rather, it would increase the distance by which this material is carried by road (with acorresponding rise in transport impacts), and would encourage larger scale exports of thematerial to the most attractive markets in South East England and Europe (rather than tolocal ports within the South West). This would not, therefore, be a helpful solution.4.112 A much more focussed incentive, in terms of increasing the local sea distribution of bothprimary and secondary aggregates within the south west, would be to introduce some formof subsidy to reduce the cost of these specific journeys, perhaps by reimbursing some or allof the handling charges at the receiving ports. These charges are typically in the range of£2/tonne (at relatively small docks such as Poole Harbour, to more than £4/tonne (at largerfacilities such as Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock, in the Bristol area). This conceptCapita Symonds Limited page 28 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionwould potentially work well, but may fall foul of the European Commission’s obligation toveto local market distortions, and would also need to be funded, thus creating furtherproblems. Further consideration is, however, given to these ideas in Chapters 5 and 6,below.Capita Symonds Limited page 29 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5. Description of the Baseline and Alternative SupplyScenarios5.1 Whilst minerals can only be worked where they are found, there are often choices that canbe made regarding which particular resources are worked and how they are transported.Areas of working are influenced directly by planning policies and indirectly by a range ofenvironmental policies and constraints, but also by market conditions.5.2 These, in turn, can be influenced by government policies including decisions to imposetaxes (such as the aggregates levy) or to provide grants or subsidies. Such financialinstruments can be used not only to influence relative prices, but also to influence theeconomic viability of different transport options which, in turn, may then distort the marketconditions further.5.3 The different supply patterns that result from adjustments to these various influences canhave far-reaching and often unintended consequences in terms of overall sustainability,and therefore need to be based on very careful analysis.5.4 For example, the increased use of recycled and secondary aggregates, induced by andcombined with the wider effects of the Aggregates Levy, has substantially reduced themarket for low-grade quarry products known as ‘scalpings’ (see Appendix B). As aconsequence, the accumulation of these materials as unsaleable products is now beginningto affect the logistics and economic viability of premium aggregate production at some ofthose sites.5.5 Whilst alternative supply strategies can potentially bring significant environmental benefitsin certain areas, these will often be at the expense of adverse consequences elsewhere.Those consequences will relate partly to the environmental, social and economic impacts atthe locations where minerals are worked or processed, but also to the modes, routes,distances and impacts of transportation and to the differences (if any) in the in-serviceperformance and environmental impacts of using alternative rather than ‘traditional’materials.5.6 It is important to recognise that the present study provides only a starting point for thedetailed analysis needed to justify any change in policy or supply pattern, and must befollowed up by a more robust sustainability appraisal before any changes are introduced.5.7 Considerable care is therefore needed to anticipate the market reaction to any proposedchange in policy, and then to consider all of the resulting environmental, social andeconomic costs and benefits that are likely to flow from this, so that the full sustainabilityimplications of the policy are understood.5.8 This strategic overview aims to provide some initial suggestions regarding the types ofpolicy change that might be considered, with a view to creating a more sustainableaggregates supply pattern for the South West as a whole. It then aims to consider, in verygeneral terms, the likely market reactions to each of these ideas, and some of thesustainability implications that might result from those reactions.5.9 The reactions are likely to be very complex and cannot be assessed in any detail in such abrief investigation, not least because site-specific information on reserves, output levels,capacity and profitability would be needed in order to anticipate the individual reactions ofeach of the major producers. Such information is not available for this study.Capita Symonds Limited page 30 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5.10 Similarly, there is neither the time nor the budget within this study to carry out a fullsustainability analysis, but initial guidance can be given regarding some of the pros andcons that are likely to be associated with each of the policy scenarios being considered.5.11 The approach taken in this report is firstly, in this chapter, to describe the various optionsthat might be considered, beginning with the ‘Scenario 1’ scheme put forward by the SWRAWP, and then, in the following chapter, to consider the relative sustainability implicationsof each of the alternative scenarios in comparison to the ‘baseline’ of Scenario 1.Baseline Conditions: “Scenario 1”5.12 Scenario 1 was put forward by the SWRAWP as an interim ‘pragmatic’ solution, basedsimply on maintaining the status quo in terms of the relative contributions of different sourceareas to the production of crushed rock and land-won sand & gravel requirements withinthe region.5.13 As noted earlier, the ODPM’s regional apportionment figures for the South West Region, forthe 16-year period 2001-2016 (inclusive), are for 453 Mt of crushed rock and 106 Mt ofland-won sand & gravel, with assumptions of 9 Mt marine sand & gravel and 121 Mt ofalternative (secondary and recycled) materials.5.14 Given that the balance between these various aggregate types has changed considerablyfrom the preceding monitoring period (see para. 4.36, above), the Scenario 1 supply patternseeks only to maintain the status quo within each of these groups. It necessarily involvesan increase in the relative proportion of land-won sand & gravel, compared with crushedrock, in order to match the ODPM’s expectations.5.15 Over the 16 year period to which the ODPM guidelines relate, the above figures equate toaverage annual production totals of 28.31 Mt of crushed rock, 6.63 Mt of land-won sand &gravel, 0.56 Mt of marine sand & gravel and 7.57Mt of secondary and recycled materials: atotal of 43.07 Mt per year for all primary, secondary and recycled sources within the region.Considering the scenarios in this way, rather than just comparing sixteen year totals withpermitted reserves, makes it easier to consider secondary and recycled aggregates(generated from continuous arisings rather than fixed reserves) alongside primaryaggregates.5.16 The ‘Scenario 1’ breakdown of crushed rock and land-won sand & gravel totals betweenMPAs within the South West has already been shown in Table 4.6 in the previous chapter.Table 5.1, below, attempts to provide a more detailed breakdown of these figures betweeneach of the various groups of sources identified in Appendix A, including the contributionsfrom marine aggregates and alternative (secondary and recycled) materials.5.17 The table therefore shows all components of the ‘Scenario 1’ supply pattern (in the righthandcolumns) and compares this, for reference, against the latest available data on actualoutput. For primary, land-won aggregates, this data is from the AM 2001 survey, asamended slightly by recent advice from the SWRAWP. For marine aggregates, the datarelate to landings in 2001 within the South West region. For secondary and recycledmaterials, the data relate to the quantities produced for use as aggregates within 2003 (thisbeing the most reliable data available - see previous Chapter for details). The methodologyused to obtain the Scenario 1 figures for each group of sources is explained below.Capita Symonds Limited page 31 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 5.1: Estimation of Average Annual Output Required to Meet Scenario 1Expectations, for all Groups of Aggregate Sources in South West EnglandGroups of SourcesAM 2001 Data(as amended by SWRAWP)Plus 2003 estimates forsecondary and recycledaggregatesAnnualOutputOutputSub-TotalsChange(relative to2001) requiredto achieveScenario 1expectations)Scenario 1(Baseline for comparisons withScenarios 2 and 3)OutputRequired(Ave, p.a.)OutputSub-Totals(Ave, p.a.)(see Figures 4.1 to 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) % (Mt) (Mt)HARD ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendips, Somerset 13.03 +2.45% 13.344B: Carboniferous & Devonian Limestone, Somerset & Devon 2.18 +14.00% 2.483C: Carboniferous Limestone, North Somerset 2.45 +7.00% 2.622D: Carboniferous Limestone, Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) 1.43 +14.00% 1.630E: Carboniferous Limestone, South Gloucestershire 3.02 +7.00% 3.23125.41F: Granite & Gabbro, SW Cornwall 0.93 +6.00% 0.990G: Granite, N Cornwall & Dartmoor 0.48 +14.00% 0.552H: Dolerite, Devon & Cornwall, plus Andesite, Somerset 1.24 +14.00% 1.411I: Carboniferous and Devonian Sandstone, Devon & Cornwall 0.59 +14.00% 0.675J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 0.06+2.00% 0.060‘WEAK’ ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0 0K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, Dorset 0.39 +10.00% 0.429L: Jurassic Limestone & Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and M 0.07 1.19 +10.00% 0.072M: Jurassic Limestone, Gloucestershire 0.74+10.00% 0.814Sub-Total: All Crushed Rock 26.61 0 0 28.31 0LAND-BASED SAND & GRAVEL AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, Devon 1.02 +12.40% 1.146O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & Cornwall 0.19 +13.70 % 0.214P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Wiltshire 1.39 5.25 +33.35% 1.854Q: Quaternary and Triassic Sand & Gravel, Gloucestershire 0.88 +29.10% 1.136R: Tertiary & Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Dorset 1.77+28.40% 2.278Sub-Total: Land-Won Sand & Gravel 5.25 0 0 6.63 0MARINE AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0S: South Coast Licence Areas 0.10 -11.00% 0.0890.63T: Bristol Channel Licence Areas 0.53-11.00% 0.472Sub-Total: Marine Sand & Gravel 0.63 0 0 0.56 0SECONDARY AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0U: Ball Clay sand, Devon & Dorset 0.13 +9.50% 0.142V: Devonian slate waste, Cornwall 0.24 +9.50% 0.2632.27W: China clay aggregates, St Austell area, Cornwall 1.60 +9.50% 1.752X: China Clay aggregates, South Dartmoor Area, Devon 0.30+9.50% 0.329RECYCLED C&D WASTE SOURCES: 0 0 0 0 0Y: Recycled C&D Waste 4.47 +9.00% 4.8724.66Z: Recycled Road Planings 0.19+9.00% 0.207Sub-Total: Alternative (Secondary & Recycled) Materials 6.93 7.57 027.001.316.630.562.495.08Totals 39.42 43.075.18 The detailed breakdown of the primary aggregate figures is based on the ‘Scenario 1’figures presented in Table 4.5, and was obtained by applying similar percentage changesto those shown in Table 4.6 to the 2001 output figures shown in Table 4.1. For groups thatencompass more than one of the MPA areas shown in Table 4.6, intermediate percentagechanges were used.Capita Symonds Limited page 32 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5.19 Individually, the percentages should be regarded as no more than approximations, and theydo not result in exactly the same proportional breakdown between different sources beingmaintained (though this is also true of the SWRAWP’s own figures for Scenario 1).Together, however, they generate total requirements for crushed rock and sand & gravelwhich equate to those identified in Table 4.6, above.5.20 The expectations for secondary and recycled materials reflect the assumptions made in theODPM’s Regional Apportionment figures (i.e. an average total of 7.57 Mt per year), brokendown in the same proportions as the latest available production figures. The ODPMexpectations for this group as a whole would entail a 9.25% increase on the ‘current’ figures(in this case from 2003). For the purposes of describing Scenario 1, this has beenachieved by applying a 9% increase to the production rate for recycled materials and a9.5% increase for secondary materials, though in practice the balance may well bedifferent.5.21 Similarly, the expectations for marine aggregate landings in the South West reflect ODPM’sguidelines which, in this case, anticipate an 11% reduction compared with 2001 figures.For the purposes of describing Scenario 1, this has been applied equally to the BristolChannel and South Coast areas.5.22 As noted in the previous chapter, the requirements for sand & gravel production in allareas, and the required production of crushed rock in Gloucestershire (specifically theForest of Dean), cannot be sustained by the current stock of permitted reserves in theseareas. This is confirmed by Table 5.2, below, which compares the permitted reserves fromTable 4.1 with the total apportionment requirements for each group of primary aggregatesources over the period 2001-2016 (derived from Table 5.1 by multiplying the annualaverages by 16) and identifies the specific surpluses and shortfalls for each group.5.23 Achieving the Scenario 1 supply pattern would necessitate the release of additionalpermitted reserves in each of the shortfall areas shown in Table 5.2, many of which arecovered by environmental designations. This is one of the key factors to be taken intoaccount in the sustainability analysis, which follows in Chapter 6.Capita Symonds Limited page 33 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 5.2: Detailed Comparison of Permitted Reserves and “Scenario 1” Sub-RegionalApportionment Figures for Primary Aggregates in the South West, 2001-2016Groups of SourcesAM 2001 Data(as amended by SWRAWP)Permitted Reservesat 31/12/2001Scenario 1 ‘Expectations’Total Required2001-2016Surplus(or Shortfall)(see Figures 4.1 to 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) (Mt)HARD ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendips, Somerset 638.75 213.50 425.25B: Carboniferous & Devonian Limestone, Somerset & Devon 124.96 39.73 85.23C: Carboniferous Limestone, North Somerset 61.00 41.94 19.06D: Carboniferous Limestone, Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) 16.90 26.08 -9.18E: Carboniferous Limestone, South Gloucestershire 183.00 51.70 131.30F: Granite & Gabbro, SW Cornwall 124.03 15.84 108.19G: Granite, N Cornwall & Dartmoor 50.74 8.83 41.91H: Dolerite, Devon & Cornwall, plus Andesite, Somerset 87.79 22.58 65.21I: Carboniferous and Devonian Sandstone, Devon & Cornwall 21.20 10.80 10.40J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 3.60 0.96 2.64‘WEAK’ ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00 .00K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, Dorset 46.32 6.86 39.45L: Jurassic Limestone & Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and M 2.10 1.14 0.96M: Jurassic Limestone, Gloucestershire 14.37 13.02 1.35Sub-Total: All Crushed Rock 1375 453 922LAND-BASED SAND & GRAVEL AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, Devon 12.053 18.34 -6.287O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & Cornwall 3.047 3.46 -0.413P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Wiltshire 11.66 29.66 -18.000Q: Quaternary and Triassic Sand & Gravel, Gloucestershire 11.77 18.18 -6.41R: Tertiary & Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Dorset 26.892 36.35 -9.458Sub-Total: Land-Won Sand & Gravel 65 106 -40.6Alternative Scenarios5.24 Clause 6 of the new ODPM Guidelines (as quoted in para 2.5, above),highlights the needfor the environmental impacts of future aggregate extraction to be considered in relation tothe ability or ‘capacity’ of the producing areas to absorb them, and for this concept to formthe basis of developing alternative scenarios of sub-regional apportionment.5.25 In view of the sensitivity of designated landscapes within the shortfall areas identifiedabove, as indicated by the SWRAWP b , avoiding the need for new permissions to begranted within these areas forms one of the main drivers for the consideration of alternativescenarios within the South West. This would represent a clear move towards a Planled(rather than demand-led) approach to minerals planning.b This study has not independently considered the particular sensitivities of these areas in comparison to anyother areas within the South West: this statement merely reflects the concerns noted in a letter regarding theScenario 1 proposal from the SWRAWP chairman to the SWRA dated 27 October 2003. For the purposes ofundertaking a full sustainability appraisal of the various scenarios now available for consideration, thesignificance of these potential environmental issues will need to be fully assessed.Capita Symonds Limited page 34 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5.26 Reducing impacts in those specific locations, however, is not the only factor to be taken intoaccount in the search for a more sustainable solution: consideration might equally be givento policies which seek to avoid the granting of new mineral permissions in all areas whichhave insufficient ‘environmental capacity’ to absorb the associated impacts; or even topolicies which place a temporary embargo on all new permissions, in order toencourage greater substitution between different aggregate sources.5.27 The latter would be at the extreme end of this range of planning options, and is likely tohave many adverse implications, but it is an option that needs to be considered, in view ofthe existence of surplus reserves of crushed rock in many areas and the surplus arisings ofsecondary aggregates at china clay workings. Careful consideration would need to begiven as to how, in practice, this could be achieved within existing planning legislation.Ideally, the embargo would need to be specified in the Regional Spatial Strategy, thustaking precedence as a material consideration over the preferred areas identified in existinglocal plans, and would subsequently need to be reflected in the relevant Local DevelopmentFrameworks. This option would effectively incorporate the avoidance of new permissions insensitive areas, and is considered below as “Scenario 2”.5.28 It must be emphasised that neither this, nor any of the other possibilities outlined below,should be seen as recommended alternatives to Scenario 1: they are merely logicalpossibilities that might be achievable and which therefore need to be considered.5.29 Before any of these alternatives (or indeed Scenario 1 itself) can be recommended fortaking forward for incorporation into the Regional Spatial Strategy, their economicfeasibility, detailed composition and relative sustainability all need to be examined far morethoroughly than has been possible in this study.5.30 Given that Scenario 2, as outlined above, seeks to address the most fundamental of theSWRAWP’s concerns in respect of the baseline scenario of maintaining the status quo, itseems logical that this should also be at the heart of some or all other scenarios that aretested. In other words, these additional scenarios should be framed along the lines of “whatif there were no further mineral permissions and .....”5.31 One of the options that could (theoretically at least) be ‘bolted-on’ to Scenario 2, in order tomake it more effective, would be to provide subsidies for the importation of sea-borneaggregates (especially, but not exclusively from secondary sources) into local portswithin the south west. Such policies would need to provide a specific incentive to landmaterial at ports with economical access to the shortfall areas, rather than just a generalincentive to sea-borne aggregate movements (since that would simply amplify the existingpattern of preferential movement of sea-borne aggregates into higher value markets in SEEngland and NW Europe).5.32 The required effect might, potentially, be achieved by providing subsidies to offset the portcharges for importing aggregates into the South West. Fiscal policies of this sort, which areconsidered below under “Scenario 3”, would almost certainly have a number of unintendedadverse economic, socio-political and environmental consequences, and might well invokethe European commission’s obligation to veto market distortions c . Furthermore, suchpolicies would also need to be funded, and that itself would bring many additional problems.For all of these reasons, it must be further emphasised that Scenario 3 is NOT beingrecommended as a way forward, but merely as an option which logically needs to be testedas part of this study.c As seen, for example, in the Commission’s objection to the subsidy given to Ryan Air by Charleroi airport,which had been given in the interests of stimulating economic activity within a depressed area.Capita Symonds Limited page 35 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5.33 Another option that might be considered as an alternative addition to Scenario 2, in order tostrengthen its intended effects, would be to introduce a policy of prohibiting, revoking ormodifying extant mineral planning permissions located in sensitive or otherwiseprotected areas. Whereas the intended benefits of Scenario 2 would not becomesignificant until existing permitted reserves in those areas are depleted, this variation would,theoretically at least, have more immediate effects. In practice, however, this again wouldbe highly unlikely to occur on any significant scale because of the cost implicationsinvolved: the use of prohibition, revocation or modification orders to prevent or restrict theworking of existing permitted reserves would require compensation to be paid to the quarryoperators for the lost asset value of the affected reserves.5.34 Other potential options that could be considered as modifications to scenario 2 couldinclude:(i) increasing targets for the recycling of C D & E waste (or, more usefully,providing specific policy initiatives that would increase either the overall rate ofarisings - e.g. from brownfield site redevelopment - or the proportion of arisings thatcan substitute for primary aggregates, especially in higher value applications. Thiswould generally require improved segregation of waste materials as they arise onconstruction, demolition and excavation sites, in order to minimise subsequentprocessing costs);(ii) anticipating major objections to future aggregates extraction includingobjections on the grounds of ‘birdstrike’ (i.e. the danger to aircraft fromconcentrations of birds around mineral workings restored to open water or landfill).This has the potential to be of major significance within the Upper Thames valley -the predominant source of sharp sand & gravel in both Wiltshire & Gloucestershire -and could necessitate an increased dependency on alternatives. This, however, iseffectively already covered by the basic premise of Scenario 2, which assumes thatno new permissions will be granted in these areas;(iii) taking account of the implications of emerging and future legislation, such asthe Working Time Directive (implications for road haulage costs, exacerbating thenegative aspects of any change in supply pattern that would involve greatertransport distances); the Water Act 2003 (potential implications for developing ordeepening quarries below the water table in areas important for their waterresources - notably in the Mendips); other aspects of the Water Framework Directive(particularly regarding impacts on water quality and ecological status of waterbodies); and possible changes to HSE requirements regarding maximum benchheights in quarries (with a potential need for new reserves to be permitted if thesafely extractable quantities are reduced at existing sites);(iv) Implementing positive actions to reduce demand (challenging national policieson house building, road construction etc. to reduce the growth in overall demand forconstruction aggregates within the region. More controversially, consideration couldbe given to reducing construction demand within the specific markets supplied fromthe shortfall areas. This would specifically help to reduce the need for substitutematerials to be moved into these areas, but it would distort patterns of futuredevelopment which, in turn, may have adverse consequences overall. Taken to itslogical extreme, this approach could eventually lead to an increase in futuredevelopment in locations within reach of the major quarries, and to a decline indevelopment elsewhere).5.35 One further option that should logically be tested, but as an ‘opposite’ to Scenario 2, ratherthan as a possible addition to it, would be the encouragement of small-scale exploitationof local resources for local use, with the specific intention of reducing the necessity forlonger road haulage from other sites (thereby reducing transport impacts, but at theexpense of more pronounced local impacts, sometimes in highly sensitive areas). This kindCapita Symonds Limited page 36 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionof scenario might be encouraged, to a large extent, by reducing unnecessary overspecificationof aggregate requirements, but it would need to be coupled with a morespecific shift in planning policies towards encouraging (rather than preventing) controlledmineral extraction in at least some sensitive areas.5.36 It is beyond the scope of this study to investigate all of these suggestions in any detail,since that would entail a very substantial amount of effort over many months of study, inorder to define the supply patterns involved with any accuracy, and even longer to carry outa robust sustainability analysis of each alternative against the baseline of Scenario 1.5.37 A more general consideration of these additional variants has been possible, however,based in part on the views expressed by various stakeholders at a discussion workshopheld in Taunton in February 2005. Whilst those discussions are not sufficient, on their own,to define a preferred option with any confidence, they have at least shed some light on therelative importance of different issues, from the perspective of the key stakeholdersinvolved.5.38 The text below provides a detailed (but illustrative) description of Scenarios 2 and 3, as abasis for examining the main sustainability differences between these and Scenario 1. Adiscussion of those differences, and of the additional sustainability implications associatedwith some of the other options outlined above, is provided in the following chapter.Detailed Description of Scenarios 2 and 3Scenario 2: No further mineral permissions before 20165.39 This scenario would encourage a reduction in output in the areas facing a shortfall ofpermitted reserves and an increase in output from some of the areas with surplus capacity(specifically, those which are technically capable of substituting for the reduced output inthe shortfall areas and which would be most likely to do so, based on available productioncapacity, planning constraints, available reserves and prevailing market conditions).5.40 The nature of the change would be dependent on the reaction of the producers in theshortfall areas: they could either reduce their annual output immediately (so that theavailable reserves in these areas lasted until 2016, with an immediate but small increase inoutput from the substitute sites); or they might continue at current rates of production untilthe reserves are depleted (in which case the substitution would be delayed for severalyears, but would then be more dramatic).5.41 Given the general aversion of construction markets to sudden change, the first of thesescenarios seems likely to be more realistic, at least for the major aggregate companies,who would probably seek to blend their traditional materials with alternatives brought infrom other sources within their control. In this way they would minimise any sudden changein product characteristics and thereby maintain their customer base with minimal disruption.For the purposes of this analysis, it has been assumed that this would be the case d :average output figures within each of the shortfall areas have been reduced to ensure thatthe stock of permitted reserves in each group (as shown in Table 4.1, in the previouschapter) is not depleted until 2016. The average output in some of the surplus areas (thosejudged most likely to respond to the shortfall in the market) has then been increased ind This assumption would probably not hold true for smaller, independent producers, who would not have theoption of substitution from within their own company. Such producers are more likely to continue productionin line with market demand, whilst seeking to identify replacement sites within the local area. This point ofdetail is just one of the issues that would need to be more precisely defined before a more rigoroussustainability analysis can be carried out.Capita Symonds Limited page 37 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionorder to balance these reductions, and the resulting average annual output figures for allgroups of sources are shown in Table 5.3, below.5.42 By comparison with the ODPM’s expectations (as represented by the ‘Scenario 1’ figures),the Scenario 2 strategy would provide a somewhat different balance between crushed rock,land-won sand & gravel, marine dredged sand & gravel and alternative materials, but theoverall total of 43.06 Mt per year would be maintained.5.43 The following assumptions were made in achieving the revised balance:(i) Carboniferous Limestone output from Group A (Mendips) would increase by atotal of 1.26 Mt (an increase of around 9.45% on current output) in order toprovide an additional 0.56 Mt to Group P (substituting for half of the shortfall ofnatural sand & gravel in Wiltshire - especially the coarse aggregate fraction); 0.4Mt to Group Q (substituting for all of the shortfall of sand & gravel inGloucestershire); and 0.3 Mt to Group R (again, coarse aggregate in particular,substituting for half of the shortfall of this material in Dorset). It is assumed thatmost, if not all of this material would be moved by road rather than rail to thesedestinations (though this would need to be confirmed for a more detailedsustainability analysis);(ii) Carboniferous Limestone output from Group B (Somerset & Devon) wouldincrease by a total of 0.15 Mt (an increase of around 6% on current output) toprovide an additional 0.13 Mt to Group N (substituting for one third of the shortfallof Triassic Sand & Gravel in Devon); and 0.02 Mt to Group O (substituting for allof the shortfall of Cretaceous and Quaternary sand & gravel in Devon &Cornwall). Again, it is assumed that this material would be transported by road.(iii) Carboniferous Limestone output from Group E (South Gloucestershire) wouldincrease by 0.57 Mt (less than 18%) to provide a like-for-like substitution for all ofthe 0.57 Mt shortfall of crushed rock production in Group D (Forest of Dean). Inpractice, some of the substitution (particularly to markets in the Welsh bordersthat are currently served from the Forest of Dean) would probably come fromCarboniferous Limestone quarries within South Wales, where these are closer tothe relevant markets, thus limiting the rise in demand on the SouthGloucestershire quarries. Again, it is assumed that the replacement materialfrom any of these sources would be transported by road.(iv) Granite and/or metamorphic rock production in Group G (Dartmoor and NorthCornwall) would increase by 0.13 Mt (almost 24%) to substitute for another thirdof the shortfall of Triassic Sand & Gravel in Devon (Group N).(v) Dolerite production in Group H (Devon & Cornwall) would also increase by 0.13Mt (just over 9%) to substitute for the final third of the shortfall of Triassic Sand &Gravel in Devon, including the proportion of that market required for roadsurfacing applications.(vi) Landings of marine dredged aggregate from South Coast licence areas wouldincrease substantially by 0.56 Mt, effectively to compensate for the other half ofthe shortfall of sand & gravel in Wiltshire (specifically the fine aggregate fraction).In practice, the fine aggregate demand in Wiltshire would probably be met by theavailable reserves of such material within Dorset, which in turn would be replacedby the marine sand & gravel, thereby resolving the imbalance between coarseand fine aggregate in that county. It is assumed that these landings would beinto Poole Harbour and/or Southampton, and that all inland transportation wouldbe by road.(vii) Sea-borne exports of both coarse and fine china clay aggregate from the StAustell area (Group W) would increase by 0.3 Mt to substitute for the other half ofthe shortfall of natural sand & gravel in Dorset.Capita Symonds Limited page 38 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region5.44 All of the changes outlined in above, totalling 3.11 Mt per year, would need to betransported significantly further by road than the materials that they would replace. Thisapplies equally to the landings of china clay sand and marine-dredged aggregate as it doesto the material supplied from inland sources, since the sea-borne materials would requireonward transportation by road to the market locations.5.45 Clearly, the precise changes that would occur under this scenario might vary from theassumptions outlined above, but the figures presented in Table 5.3 are put forward as areasonable approximation that can be used for the purposes of illustrating the kind ofissues that might need to be taken into account in a more detailed sustainability appraisal,in due course.5.46 It is also clear that the supply pattern indicated in Table 5.3 could not be maintained beyond2016 since, by that date, the reserves within each of the shortfall areas would have beenfully depleted. Thereafter, there would be the option of maintaining the status quo byreleasing limited new reserves in the shortfall areas (with consequential impacts withinthose areas), or further increasing the level of substitution from the alternative source areasidentified above (with corresponding impacts within those areas, in addition to a furtherincrease in the quantities being transported by road over longer distances)5.47 The sustainability implications of both the initial period, to 2016, and beyond, areconsidered in the following Chapter.Capita Symonds Limited page 39 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 5.3: Description of Scenario 2 (no new mineral permissions before 2016) incomparison with Scenario 1 (baseline), in terms of average annual rates of production.Groups of SourcesScenario 1Change (relative Scenario 2(Baseline)OutputRequired(Ave, p.a.)OutputSub-Totals(Ave, p.a.)to Scenario 1)required toachieveScenario 2)OutputRequired(Ave, p.a.)OutputSub-Totals(Ave, p.a.)(see Figures 4.1 to 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) % (Mt) (Mt)HARD ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendips, Somerset 13.344 +9.45% 14.61B: Carboniferous & Devonian Limestone, Somerset & Devon 2.483 +6.22% 2.64C: Carboniferous Limestone, North Somerset 2.622 +0.00% 2.62D: Carboniferous Limestone, Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) 1.630 -35.21% 1.06E: Carboniferous Limestone, South Gloucestershire 3.231 +17.76% 3.8127.00F: Granite & Gabbro, SW Cornwall 0.990 0.00% 0.99G: Granite, N Cornwall & Dartmoor 0.552 +23.75% 0.68H: Dolerite, Devon & Cornwall, plus Andesite, Somerset 1.411 +9.29% 1.54I: Carboniferous and Devonian Sandstone, Devon & Cornwall 0.675 0.00% 0.67J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 0.0600.00% 0.06‘WEAK’ ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, Dorset 0.429 0.00% 0.43L: Jurassic Limestone & Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and M 0.072 1.31 0.00% 0.07M: Jurassic Limestone, Gloucestershire 0.8140.00% 0.8128.68Sub-Total: All Crushed Rock 28.31 0 +5.93% 29.99 0.00LAND-BASED SAND & GRAVEL AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, Devon 1.146 -34.29% 0.75O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & Cornwall 0.214 -10.91% 0.19P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Wiltshire 1.854 6.63 -60.68% 0.73Q: Quaternary and Triassic Sand & Gravel, Gloucestershire 1.136 -35.25% 0.74R: Tertiary & Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Dorset 2.272-26.21% 1.68Sub-Total: Land-Won Sand & Gravel 6.63 0 -38.31% 4.09 0.00MARINE AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00S: South Coast Licence Areas 0.089 +624.9% 0.650.56T: Bristol Channel Licence Areas 0.4720.00% 0.47Sub-Total: Marine Sand & Gravel 0.56 0 +100.13% 1.12 0.00SECONDARY AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00U: Ball Clay sand, Devon & Dorset 0.142 0.00% 0.14V: Devonian slate waste, Cornwall 0.263 0.00% 0.262.49W: China clay aggregates, St Austell area, Cornwall 1.752 +16.84% 2.05X: China Clay aggregates, South Dartmoor Area, Devon 0.3290.00% 0.33RECYCLED C&D WASTE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00Y: Recycled C&D Waste 4.872 0.00% 4.875.08Z: Recycled Road Planings 0.2070.00% 0.21Sub-Total: Alternative (Secondary & Recycled) Materials 7.57 0 +3.90% 7.86 0.001.314.091.122.785.08Totals 43.07 43.07Scenario 3: Subsidised Importation of Aggregate into South West Ports5.48 This scenario explores the potential implications of using fiscal policies to encourage thegreater delivery of land-won, marine dredged and secondary aggregates into local portswithin shortfall areas of the South West. The Regional Assembly, on its own, has nopowers to introduce policies of this sort, but it could lobby for such policies to be introducedby central Government, if a suitably compelling case could be made. Any such policiescould well be vetoed by the European Commission (see para. 5.32, above), but they areCapita Symonds Limited page 40 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionnevertheless worth exploring in terms of the sustainability issues likely to be involved, notleast because there may be some potential for strong sustainability arguments to be usedto change European policy on such matters.5.49 As explained in Chapter 4, many of the options for delivering aggregates into the SouthWest are currently defeated by the proportionally high costs of transporting bulk materialsover relatively short distances by sea. It is simply less attractive to do this than to transportthe aggregates further into more profitable markets in South East England and westernEurope. At present, even those journeys are not economically viable except for marinedredgedaggregates, where the material does not first have to be transported by road andthen transferred into ships.5.50 By subsidising the cost of bringing material into local ports within the region, for example byoffsetting some or all of the port charges at these specific locations, it would theoretically bepossible to encourage much greater use of these materials within the South West. For thepurposes of this analysis, it has been assumed that the subsidy would be funded by usingsome of the revenue from the existing aggregates levy, but this is only one of a range ofoptions that might be considered.5.51 Subsidies on port charges would be particularly beneficial to the increased utilisation ofsecondary aggregates from china clay workings (which already benefit from the enhancedprice advantage bestowed by the aggregates levy). They would also encourage greaterimports from other sources, including marine-dredged aggregates from the spareproduction capacity that exists within the South Coast Licence areas; general-purposecrushed rock aggregates, for example from coastal superquarries in Scotland (as well asDean quarry in Cornwall); and high PSV aggregates from established exporters in NorthernIreland.5.52 In order for the effects of this to be targeted on the projected shortfall areas, theintroduction of subsidies of this sort would need to be accompanied by an embargo on therelease of new reserves of primary aggregates in those (and perhaps other) areas, as inScenario 2. As explained above, scenario 3 is therefore a modification of Scenario 2, withpotential fiscal policies added.5.53 The precise reaction of the markets to such changes are likely to be complex and wouldneed to be researched very thoroughly before any robust assessment of the overallconsequences could be undertaken. Once again, however, some general assumptions canbe made in order to highlight the kind of issues that would need to be considered in anyfuture studies. These assumptions are set out below.5.54 As with Scenario 2, the nature of the change would be dependent on the reaction of theproducers in the shortfall areas but, again, it seems likely that the larger companies, atleast, would begin to reduce their annual output immediately, enabling them to blend theirtraditional materials with alternatives brought in from other sources within their control,thereby minimising any sudden change in product characteristics. For the purposes of thisanalysis, therefore, average output figures within each of the shortfall areas have beenreduced to ensure that the stock of permitted reserves in each group is not depleted until2016. The average output in some of the surplus areas (primarily those which would beable to take advantage of the shipping subsidies) has then been increased in order tobalance these reductions, and the resulting average annual output figures for all groups ofsources are shown in Table 5.4, below.5.55 In more detail, the assumptions made for Scenario 3, for the purpose of this assessmentare as follows:(i)Imports of crushed rock from (say,) Glensanda in Scotland would be broughtinto Avonmouth and used to replace the 0.57 Mt/yr shortfall of crushedCapita Symonds Limited page 41 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)limestone from the Forest of Dean (Group D): the two materials are clearly quitedifferent, mineralogically, but they are broadly similar in terms of their suitabilityfor most end-uses that are normally associated with Carboniferous Limestone;Limited imports (0.13 Mt/yr) of high PSV gritstone from Northern Ireland wouldbe brought into Exeter / Teignmouth to substitute for one third of the shortfall ofTriassic Sand & Gravel in Devon (Group N), specifically including the proportionof that market required for skid-resistant road surfacing applications.Exports of china clay aggregates from Group W would increase by 1.15 Mt/yr(more than 65%) in order to substitute for the remaining two thirds of theshortfall of sand & gravel in Group N (0.26 Mt); all of the shortfall of sand &gravel in Group O (0.02 Mt); half of the shortfall of sand & gravel in Group P(0.56 Mt); and half of the shortfall of sand & gravel in Group R (0.3 Mt). It isassumed that the secondary aggregates would be landed in Poole, Portland orSouthampton (as dictated by the otherwise unfulfilled demand and portcapacities), with onward transportation by road.Increased output from Group A sources, amounting to 0.2 Mt (just 1.5% oncurrent rates) would substitute for half of the shortfall in Group Q (specificallythe coarse aggregate fraction), being transported primarily by road; andLandings of marine aggregates into Poole, Portland and/or Southampton, fromavailable reserves within the South Coast Licensed dredging areas wouldincrease by 1.06 Mt/yr) to substitute for the remaining halves of the shortfalls ofland-won sand & gravel in groups P (0.56 Mt), Q (0.2 Mt) and R (0.3 Mt).Specifically, this would include the fine aggregate fraction, to blend with coarseaggregate from the other sources outlined above. Again, it is assumed thatonward transportation would be by road, but in practice this might not beeconomically viable for all markets currently being served by quarries in groupsP and Q. Further refinement of this scenario would therefore be needed beforeit is fully tested.5.56 Once again, these changes would mean that the balance between crushed rock, land-wonsand & gravel, marine sand & gravel and alterative materials would be rather different tothose set out in the latest ODPM guidelines (compare subtotals with those for Scenario 1 inTable 5.4). Moreover, the total supplied from sources within the South West would alsodiffer from the ODPM’s apportionment figure, because of the new imports assumed fromScotland and Northern Ireland.5.57 Again, all of the substitute materials, totalling 3.11 Mt per year, would need to betransported significantly further by road than the materials that they would replace. Thisapplies equally to the landings of china clay sand and marine-dredged aggregate as it doesto the material supplied from inland sources.5.58 As with Scenario 2, the supply pattern indicated in Table 5.4 could not be maintainedbeyond 2016 since, by that date, the reserves within each of the shortfall areas would havebeen fully depleted. Thereafter, there would be the option of maintaining the status quo byreleasing limited new reserves in the shortfall areas, or further increasing the level ofsubstitution from the source areas identified above.5.59 The sustainability implications of both the initial period, to 2016, and beyond, areconsidered in the following Chapter.Capita Symonds Limited page 42 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTable 5.4: Description of Scenario 3 (subsidised importation of aggregates into SouthWest ports) compared with Scenario 1 (baseline), in terms of average rates of productionGroups of SourcesScenario 1Scenario 3(Baseline) (relative toOutputRequired(Ave, p.a.)OutputSub-Totals(Ave, p.a.)ChangeScenario 1)required toachieveScenario 3)OutputRequired(Ave, p.a.)OutputSub-Totals(Ave, p.a.)(see Figures 4.1 to 4.3 for locations) (Mt) (Mt) % (Mt) (Mt)HARD ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendips, Somerset 13.344 +1.50% 13.54B: Carboniferous & Devonian Limestone, Somerset & Devon 2.483 0.00% 2.48C: Carboniferous Limestone, North Somerset 2.622 0.00% 2.62D: Carboniferous Limestone, Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) 1.630 -35.21% 1.06E: Carboniferous Limestone, South Gloucestershire 3.231 0.00% 3.2327.00F: Granite & Gabbro, SW Cornwall 0.990 0.00% 0.99G: Granite, N Cornwall & Dartmoor 0.552 0.00% 0.55H: Dolerite, Devon & Cornwall, plus Andesite, Somerset 1.411 0.00% 1.41I: Carboniferous and Devonian Sandstone, Devon & Cornwall 0.675 0.00% 0.67J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 0.0600.00% 0.060‘WEAK’ ROCK AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, Dorset 0.429 0.00% 0.43L: Jurassic Limestone & Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and M 0.072 1.31 0.00% 0.07M: Jurassic Limestone, Gloucestershire 0.8140.00% 0.8126.62Sub-Total: All Crushed Rock 28.31 0 -1.32% 27.94 0.00LAND-BASED SAND & GRAVEL AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, Devon 1.146 -34.29% 0.75O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & Cornwall 0.214 -10.91% 0.19P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Wiltshire 1.854 6.63 -60.68% 0.73Q: Quaternary and Triassic Sand & Gravel, Gloucestershire 1.136 -35.25% 0.74R: Tertiary & Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Dorset 2.272-26.21% 1.68Sub-Total: Land-Won Sand & Gravel 6.63 0 -38.31% 4.09 0.00MARINE AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00S: South Coast Licence Areas 0.089 +1179.08% 1.150.56T: Bristol Channel Licence Areas 0.4720.00% 0.47Sub-Total: Marine Sand & Gravel 0.56 0 +188.92% 1.62 0.00SECONDARY AGGREGATE SOURCES: 0 0.00U: Ball Clay sand, Devon & Dorset 0.142 0.00% 0.14V: Devonian slate waste, Cornwall 0.263 0.00% 0.262.49W: China clay aggregates, St Austell area, Cornwall 1.752 +65.43% 2.90X: China Clay aggregates, South Dartmoor Area, Devon 0.3290.00% 0.33RECYCLED C&D WASTE SOURCES: 0 0 0.00Y: Recycled C&D Waste 4.872 0.00% 4.875.08Z: Recycled Road Planings 0.2070.00% 0.21Sub-Total: Alternative (Secondary & Recycled) Materials 7.57 0 +15.32% 8.72 0.00IMPORTS FROM SCOTLAND & N. IRELAND: 0 0.721.314.091.623.635.08Totals 43.07 0 0 43.07Capita Symonds Limited page 43 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region6. Sustainability Implications of the Alternative SupplyScenarios6.1 As noted earlier, it has been beyond the scope of this study to carry out a full sustainabilityanalysis, but detailed comments are given in this chapter regarding some of theenvironmental, social and economic pros and cons that are likely to be associated witheach of the policy scenarios being considered.6.2 These comments are based on only limited information (that presented in Chapter 4 anddeveloped in Chapter 5), and on the experience of carrying out more detailed assessmentsin other areas, for the Welsh Assembly and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister,respectively (Thompson et al, 2002 e , 2004 f ). The comments also take account of thefeedback received from a stakeholders’ discussion workshop, organised by the RegionalAssembly and held in Taunton in February 2005.6.3 A review of the main generic sustainability issues likely to be involved, based on the earlierresearch mentioned above, is presented in Appendix B, which also provides an introductionto the concept of measuring sustainability by reference to the impacts on 12 categories ofenvironmental, social and economic capital. This forms the basis for the ‘SymondsSustainability Model’ and, although that model is not fully deployed in this analysis, thesame concept provides a very useful basis for the following strategic review.6.4 As explained in Appendix B, comparing the relative sustainability of two alternativescenarios is a far more realistic objective than attempting to assess the sustainability of anysingle option in absolute terms. That approach has therefore been adopted in this study,with each of the main alternative scenarios (2 and 3) being assessed against the baselineof Scenario 1. The scenarios themselves, which are intended to represent fairly extremeversions of the policies that might be adopted, in order to highlight the key differences, arefully described in the preceding chapter.Scenario 2 compared with Scenario 16.5 Briefly summarised, Scenario 1 is based on maintaining the production of aggregates fromall current sources within the South West, at rates which enable the ODPM guidelines forcrushed rock, land-won sand & gravel, marine sand & gravel and alternative materials, tobe met, for the period up to 2016. This scenario cannot be met from the current stock ofpermitted reserves in all areas, and necessarily entails the release of new permissionswithin sensitive valley landscapes in Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, including theWye valley in the Forest of Dean.6.6 Scenario 2, by contrast, seeks to avoid such impacts by placing a temporary embargo onall new permissions within the South West. This would encourage greater substitution fromareas of surplus reserves and spare capacity into those areas where shortfalls wouldotherwise occur. It therefore specifically avoids creating impacts at new sites andencourages greater resource efficiency, but inevitably requires an equivalent increase inrates of production at other sites and a significant increase in aggregate transportation byroad within the region. More specifically, it requires increased production from extantplanning permissions within the Carboniferous Limestone, where potential conflicts existbetween mineral extraction and groundwater resources. Where crushed rock or china claye Thompson, Knapman & Pethick, 2002: Comparative Environmental and Sustainability Assessment ofLand and Marine Aggregate Sources for South East Wales. Report to the Welsh Assembly Government.f Thompson, Burrows, Flavin and Walsh, 2004: The Sustainable Use of High Specification Aggregates inEngland. Research report to MIRO and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.Capita Symonds Limited page 44 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionaggregate has to substitute for natural sand, there would be an increased requirement forcement in the production of concrete and mortar products.6.7 The factors that are most likely to influence the differences in relative sustainability whencomparing Scenario 2 against the baseline of Scenario 1, during the period up to 2016, areconsidered to be as follows:6.8 Positive Factors:(i) Avoidance of impacts (particularly landscape, ecology and birdstrike, but alsohydrology, noise, traffic and loss of amenity) that would otherwise be associatedwith new sand & gravel extraction sites within sensitive lowland river valleys inDorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, and within new limestone quarries within theWye Valley in the Forest of Dean;(ii) Increased resource efficiency from more effective utilisation of existing permittedreserves (essentially an amplification of the benefit identified above);(iii) Limited increase in employment within the road haulage sector (which, given thecurrent shortage of hauliers and the impending effects of the Working TimeDirective, could actually create problems);(iv) Limited increase in the utilisation of secondary aggregates from china clayworkings, in place of primary aggregates.6.9 Negative Factors:(i) Transfer of extraction impacts (landscape, ecology, noise, birdstrike etc) to thealternative sites (though the significance of each impact at the alternative sitesmight be less, if they are located in less sensitive areas. Moreover, the impactsare already happening because the alternative sites are active quarries: thetransfer of production to these sites would generally make only a marginaldifference to the scale of impacts involved);(ii) Significantly increased road transportation of aggregates within the region (thiscould be quantified, approximately, in terms of the typical distances and routesinvolved, for the quantities being substituted from each supply area to thecorresponding market areas, but this would need much further work);(iii) Corresponding large increases in delivery costs and thus in the price of deliveredmaterial, with implications for the rate of development in the market areas affectedby the shortfalls from traditional sources;(iv) Corresponding increases in the consumption of energy and fossil fuels, and in theemissions of pollutants and greenhouse gasses (see Appendix B);(v) Corresponding increases in all of the noise, vibration, accident and traffic nuisanceimpacts associated with road haulage (see Appendix B);(vi) Increased pressure on groundwater resources in the ‘surrogate’ supply areaswithin major aquifers (which could potentially result in future aggregate supplyconstraints, depending on Environment Agency approaches to the new transferlicensing regime);(vii) Increased potential risks to habitats and species that are dependent uponmaintaining critical water levels in these areas (though such risks can often besuccessfully mitigated);(viii) Potential further increases in energy and carbon emissions relating to theincreased cement requirements where natural sand is replaced by crushed rockfines or china clay aggregates.Capita Symonds Limited page 45 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region6.10 If the scenario 2 policies were continued beyond 2016, the positive factors would bemaintained (and would probably increase since, by then, the alternative of Scenario 1would require even more new reserves to be released in other sensitive areas), but thenegative factors would greatly increase in magnitude, because of the much greaterquantities of material from alternative sources being transported over long distances byroad.Variations to Scenario 26.11 The option of prohibiting, revoking or modifying extant mineral planning permissionslocated in sensitive or otherwise protected areas would have the effect of intensifyingboth the positive and negative aspects of Scenario 2 and, theoretically at least, would havemore immediate effects. In practice, however, it would require compensation to be paid tothe quarry operators and this would have a major adverse economic impact (not only interms of cost to the MPAs, but also in terms of lost production). As such, the option isunrealistic, except perhaps on a very limited scale. Prohibition orders are likely to be used,for example, in the near future in respect of a number of very old dormant sites (particularlyin Devon) which have no realistic prospect of ever being worked, but this would make nopractical difference to the environmental impacts at active mineral workings.6.12 Increasing the use of recycled C D & E waste as aggregates, by increasing either theoverall rate of arisings or the proportion that can substitute for primary aggregates,especially in higher value applications. This is clearly a desirable objective, since it wouldreduce the extent to which alternative primary materials have to be transported into themarkets currently served by the predicted shortfall areas (thereby reducing many of thenegative impacts listed in para. 6.9, above). It must be recognised, however, that whilstthere may be short and medium term opportunities to increase recycling through theprovision of new facilities to serve local markets, the magnitude of change is limited by theavailability of arisings, and may well decline in the longer term as brownfield developmentsites are used up and the availability of material for recycling reduces.6.13 Effects of the Working Time Directive. As previously noted, if adopted in the UK, this willeffectively exacerbate some of the transport-related negative aspects of Scenario 2,particularly delivery costs.6.14 Effects of the Water Act 2003 and the Water Framework Directive. These are bothlikely to heighten the significance of the negative aspects of scenario 2 that relate to thewater environment and water resources. This is an area of intensive ongoing research,much of which is likely to be reflected in a forthcoming water environment annex toMinerals Planning Statement 2.6.15 Demand Management Policies. As noted earlier, these could, in particular, help to reducethe need for substitute materials to be moved into the identified shortfall areas, therebyreducing the transport-related negative aspects of scenario 2. In the long term, however,this would distort patterns of future development, leading perhaps to increased pressure fordevelopment in rural locations near to the available reserves.Reversal of Scenario 26.16 As noted in Chapter 5, the encouragement of small-scale exploitation of localresources for local use, would effectively be a reversal of Scenario 2, in which negativeimpacts at extraction sites are accepted in exchange for a reduced requirement fortransportation. In the relatively short term of the period up to 2016, this would be littledifferent to Scenario 1, but in the longer term of the Regional Spatial Strategy (to 2026), asnew planning applications come forward in areas that have not, hitherto, been regarded as‘preferred areas’ for mineral extraction, it would result in a greater number of mineralCapita Symonds Limited page 46 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionworkings, a resulting reduction in overall transportation and a potential increase in theoverall scale of environmental impacts within sensitive areas.6.17 These localised impacts (which can often be mitigated through the use of latest availablebest practice) would be effectively be traded for a reduction in global impacts (notablycarbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels). The choice between this and Scenario 2 willthus depend on the perceived relative importance of the local and global impacts,respectively. To inform that decision, much greater quantification is needed on the scale ofimpacts likely to be involved in each case. This will require further study.Scenario 3 compared with Scenario 16.18 As with Scenario 2, Scenario 3 seeks to avoid the impacts of further mineral working onsensitive valley landscapes within the shortfall areas by placing a temporary embargo onthe release of new reserves within these (and perhaps other) areas, and by combining thiswith fiscal policies that would allow subsidies to be given (e.g. from the revenue of theexisting aggregates levy) to offset the costs of landing aggregate materials at ports withinthe South West. This would encourage imports of aggregates from a variety of sources intothose areas where shortfalls would otherwise occur, including particularly, but notexclusively, the local shipment of secondary aggregate from china clay workings.6.19 By comparison with the baseline of Scenario 1, this scenario therefore specifically avoidscreating impacts at new sites and encourages greater resource efficiency but, as withScenario 2, it would require a significant increase in aggregate transportation by road withinthe region. In contrast to Scenario 2, it would require only a minor increase in productionfrom extant planning permissions within the Carboniferous Limestone. It would also divertaggregates levy funding away from some of the uses to which it is currently being put.6.20 The factors that are most likely to influence differences in relative sustainability whencomparing Scenario 3 against the baseline of Scenario 1, during the period up to 2016, areconsidered to be as follows:6.21 Positive Factors:(i) Avoidance of impacts (particularly landscape, ecology and birdstrike, but alsohydrology, noise, traffic and loss of amenity) that would otherwise be associatedwith new sand & gravel extraction sites within sensitive lowland river valleys inDorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, and within new limestone quarries within theWye Valley in the Forest of Dean;(ii) Limited increase in employment within the road haulage sector, and in local portswithin the South West;(iii) Significant increase in the utilisation of secondary aggregates from china clayworkings, in place of primary aggregates;6.22 Negative Factors:(i) Transfer of extraction impacts (landscape, ecology, noise, birdstrike etc) to thealternative sites, including Scotland and Northern Ireland (though, again, thesignificance of each impact at the alternative sites might be less, if they are locatedin less sensitive areas and, because the alternative sites are already activequarries / china clay pits, the impacts are already happening: the transfer ofproduction would generally make only a marginal difference to the scale ofimpacts);(ii) Significantly increased road transportation of aggregates within the region (thiswould be different, in detail, to the changes associated with Scenario 2, but furtherwork would be needed to quantify this and the associated impacts outlined below);Capita Symonds Limited page 47 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region(iii) Corresponding large increases in delivery costs and thus in the price of deliveredmaterial, with implications for the rate of development in the market areas affectedby the shortfalls from traditional sources;(iv) Corresponding increases in the consumption of energy and fossil fuels, and in theemissions of pollutants and greenhouse gasses (see Appendix B);(v) Corresponding increases in all of the noise, vibration, accident and traffic nuisanceimpacts associated with road haulage (see Appendix B);(vi) Potential further increases in energy and carbon emissions relating to theincreased cement requirements where natural sand is replaced by crushed rockfines or china clay aggregates.(vii) Possible increase in impacts of marine dredging within existing South CoastLicence areas (these would be proportionally larger in scale than those associatedwith Scenario 2).(viii) Reduction in the benefits that would otherwise have been achieved by the use ofaggregate levy funding, as a direct consequence of diverting some of that fundingto provide the subsidies.6.23 Once again, if the scenario 3 policies were continued beyond 2016, the positive factorswould be maintained and increased, but the negative factors would also increase inmagnitude, because of the much greater quantities of material from alternative sourcesbeing transported over long distances by road.Discussion6.24 As noted earlier, the foregoing scenarios are intended to represent fairly extreme versionsof a range of policies that might be considered, in order to highlight the possibleimplications of each one. In practice, it is likely that a combination of measures will beneeded, drawing together the most advantageous aspects of each of the scenarios andvariants, in order to develop a ‘preferred option’ which can then be tested more thoroughlyagainst Scenario 1 in a full sustainability analysis.6.25 In order to identify such a preferred option, it is important to recognise that different peopleand different interest groups are likely to have quite different views regarding the relativesignificance of each of the pros and cons associated with each of the scenarios. In order toharness this range of views, the scenarios were presented and discussed at a consultationworkshop in Taunton on 23 rd February 2005. Comments were received from a wide rangeof stakeholders, from minerals industry representatives to mineral planning authorities,conservation bodies and other interest groups.6.26 The benefits and disbenefits of each scenario, as presented at the workshop, were broadlysupported by most stakeholders, but some additional issues were also raised, and thesehave been incorporated in the foregoing text.6.27 There was general agreement that, while Scenario 1 had the advantage of being a ‘triedand tested’ approach reflecting the commercial realities of the current market, there was aneed to think ‘outside the box’ of conventional wisdom and to give greater recognition to theneed for improved sustainability.6.28 There was also a broad acceptance that this did not just mean reducing impacts ondesignated conservation sites, and that sustainability ‘gains’ in this area might need to betraded off against ‘losses’ in other areas (and vice-versa). In particular, there wasagreement that reduced environmental impacts on a local scale may have to be balancedagainst increased, transport-related carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption, both ofwhich are significant in terms of global sustainability. The choice then becomes one ofCapita Symonds Limited page 48 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionlocal versus global priorities (‘local’ in this sense including impacts on local sites that maysometimes be of national or international importance).6.29 Not surprisingly, scenarios 2 and 3 were seen as too stark and over-simplistic (as intended,in order to magnify the contrasts for the purposes of discussion), although their advantagesin terms of being represented by very clear policies, and in terms of making more effectiveuse of existing permitted reserves, were noted.Developing a Preferred Solution: Scenario 46.30 The general consensus at the stakeholder meeting was that certain aspects of all threemain scenarios, including some of the variants to Scenario 2, should be combined into apreferred scenario (‘Scenario 4’) which would then be subjected to a more detailedsustainability analysis and taken forward into the Regional Spatial Strategy.6.31 In order for such a combined Scenario to be adequately compared against Scenario 1,however, it must be capable of being adequately represented in terms of policies, andadequately described in terms of the balance of production from different sources thatwould result from those policies.6.32 The most positive elements of the initial scenarios (i.e. those where the advantages werefelt likely to outweigh the disadvantages) that together would make up Scenario 4, weregenerally perceived by consultees to be as follows:o Further increasing the use of CD&E waste arisings as aggregates, especially inhigher value applications such as concrete;(In the short to medium term (e.g. 10 years or so) this is likely to come about in response toexisting Government policies, including the aggregates levy and WRAP initiatives, such asthe Quality Protocol for recycled aggregates, but would be further enhanced by local policycommitments to the provision of recycling facilities in all urban areas. As previously noted,however, it must be recognised that the magnitude of improvement in this area will be limitedby the availability of arisings, which may well decline in the longer term)o Increasing the use of marine dredged aggregates, particularly from existing SouthCoast licence areas to replace land-won sand & gravel, especially in Dorset;(in practice, this and the following objective would require specific initiatives to increase thelikelihood of marine sand & gravel, rather than crushed rock, being used in Dorset. Suchinitiatives might include strategic investment in transport infrastructure to encourage freightdistribution from Poole Harbour into East Dorset)o Minimising the necessity to substitute natural sand & gravel with crushed rock,because of the transport impacts and increased cement requirements involved, andalso because of the potential conflict with water resources in limestone aquifers;(this would be further assisted by investigating the possibilities of environmentally acceptablesand & gravel extraction within Dorset and South Wiltshire: to include both the identificationand proving of economic resources in less sensitive areas, and drawing on best practicemitigation techniques to enable extraction to take place in close proximity to protected sites,without adverse effects)oMinimising the necessity for sand & gravel extraction within the most sensitive areas- i.e. those within or adjacent to national and international designations;(this would require a more focussed initiative than the ‘blanket’ policy suggested as the basisof Scenario 2, and would need to be informed by research to identify the most sensitivesites. This could be carried out in conjunction with the search for less sensitive sites, notedabove)Capita Symonds Limited page 49 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regiono Anticipating major objections (particularly on the grounds of birdstrike risks to MODfacilities) to future sand & gravel extraction in the Cotswold Water Park area;(in practice, this would not require such extraction to be prevented, but it would require apolicy of avoiding such risks and would also require a precautionary increase inapportionment totals for nearby substitute areas such as the Mendips)o Avoiding further permissions for Carboniferous Limestone extraction within theForest of Dean (with a resulting increased output from such quarries in SouthGloucestershire and perhaps in South Wales to substitute for the shortfall);(This would require a reduction in the sub-regional apportionment for the Forest of Dean anda presumption against further permissions for limestone extraction in that area, together witha corresponding increase in the sub-regional apportionment for South Gloucestershire,compared with Scenario 1)o Exploring the use of fiscal measures to stimulate the increased use of china clayaggregates within the Region (but not to implement this immediately).6.33 Implementing the various policy initiatives outlined above would result in a more subtlechange to the current sub-regional apportionment, and ought to create a more sustainablesupply pattern than any of the more extreme Scenarios considered earlier.6.34 Before those assumptions can be verified, however, some further work is needed,particularly in order to determine the extent to which acceptable land-based sand & gravelextraction might be able to continue within and near to the shortfall areas; and perhaps toidentify what measures could be implemented to stimulate greater use of marineaggregates in Dorset. Recommendations on the scope of work needed are summarised inthe following chapter.Capita Symonds Limited page 50 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Region7. Conclusions and Recommendations7.1 This study has investigated a number of policy options that could be used to influence thefuture pattern of aggregate supply within South West England, and has begun to considerthe likely implications that each of these would have in terms of overall sustainability, bycomparison with a market-led baseline (Scenario 1) proposed by the South West RegionalAggregates Working Party in 2003.7.2 The options initially selected (Scenarios 2 and 3) were deliberately stark examples thathelped to highlight the main sustainability differences between alternative approaches.Initial findings on these were discussed with a range of invited stakeholders at aconsultation workshop organised by the Regional Assembly in February 2005.7.3 Assisted by the outcome of those discussions, the most beneficial aspects Scenarios 2 and3 (and variations thereof) have been identified and combined to create a ‘preferred supplypattern’ (Scenario 4). This is still not a firm recommendation to be taken forward into theRSS, as it needs to be characterised in more detail, and subjected to a full sustainabilityanalysis. That, however, can only be done after further work to verify the feasibility ofcertain aspects.7.4 Briefly summarised, Scenario 4 would potentially involve the following changes, comparedto Scenario 1:o Further increasing the use of CD&E waste arisings as aggregates, especially inhigher value applications such as concrete;o Increasing the use of marine dredged aggregates, particularly from existing SouthCoast licence areas to replace land-won sand & gravel, especially in Dorset;o Minimising the necessity to substitute natural sand & gravel with crushed rock,because of the transport impacts and increased cement requirements involved, andalso because of the potential conflict with water resources in limestone aquifers;oMinimising the necessity for sand & gravel extraction within the most sensitive areas- i.e. those within or adjacent to national and international designations;o Anticipating major objections (particularly on the grounds of birdstrike risks to MODfacilities) to future sand & gravel extraction in the Cotswold Water Park area;o Avoiding further permissions for Carboniferous Limestone extraction within theForest of Dean (with a resulting increased output from such quarries in SouthGloucestershire and perhaps in South Wales to substitute for the shortfall); ando Exploring the use of fiscal measures to stimulate the increased use of china clayaggregates within the Region (but not to implement this immediately)7.5 A range of policy adjustments and initiatives would be needed in order to bring thesechanges about, but further work needs to be undertaken before these requirements can beconfirmed. This relates primarily to the feasibility, or otherwise, of the continued extractionof land-based sand and gravel within the shortfall areas, once the existing permittedreserves in those areas have been worked out.7.6 It is recommended that this work should comprise a review of known and potential sand &gravel resources within Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (drawing largely on the recentBritish Geological Survey report in the case of Dorset), and a detailed assessment of theextent to which these could be worked, using best practice mitigation techniques, withoutCapita Symonds Limited page 51 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionadverse effects on environmental designations, other major planning restrictions, and therisk of birdstrike to MOD facilities.7.7 Once that work has been completed, it will be possible to define all of the policy initiativesrequired to stimulate the preferred supply pattern, and to define a corresponding subregionalapportionment strategy.7.8 Consultation with industry will then need to take place, in order to gauge, as accurately aspossible, how the market is likely to respond to both the policies and the apportionment.7.9 Only when this has been done will it be possible to characterise Scenario 4 in sufficientdetail for it to be tested, against Scenario 1, by means of a full sustainability analysis,carried out by other consultants. The outcome of that work will then determine which optionshould be taken forward into the Regional Spatial Strategy.Capita Symonds Limited page 52 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionAppendix A: Primary and Secondary Aggregate Sources in the South WestA.01 Table A1, at the end of this Appendix, lists all of the primary and secondary aggregatesources which supplied aggregate into the South West Region in 2001, grouped bysimilarity of aggregate type and geographical location. The following text provides acommentary on each of the resulting groups of sources.Hard Rock Aggregate SourcesGroup A: Carboniferous Limestone, Mendip Hills, SomersetA.02 Table A1 (and also the simplified Table 4.1 in the main text) highlight the very largestock of permitted reserves located within the Mendip quarries, compared with all othergroups, totalling more than 638 Million tonnes (Mt) in 2001. The tables also reveal thevery large annual output from these units, of more than 13 Mt, which equates to around40% of the total primary aggregates production in the South West region as a whole.This is being achieved despite the fact that only half of the eighteen quarries in thisgroup are currently active and only seven of these are major producers. Of those, fourare located in the eastern Mendips (Torr, Whatley, Colemans and Halecombe), one(Gurney Slade) is located in the central area and the other two (Callow Hill andBattscombe) are located in the western part of the hills, within the AONB.A.03 Both coarse and fine aggregates from these sources are high quality products,supplied mainly for use in concrete, concrete blocks, asphalt materials (other thansurface courses) and unbound road aggregates. Washed limestone dust is alsocommonly sold as a sand substitute.A.04 Production is dominated by output from Whatley and Torr, both of which are railconnected and supply substantial quantities of aggregate by rail into London and SouthEast England, and by road to closer destinations within both the South West andadjoining regions. Output from the other main producers is transported by road, mainlyto locations within the South West but also into neighbouring regions.A.05 Statistics presented within the SWRAWP Annual Report for 2001 show that about 30%of all crushed rock production in the South West in 2001 was used outside the regionInformation from Somerset County Council confirms that a very large proportion of this,more than 6 Mt (= 22% of all crushed rock production in the region) was sourced fromthe MendipsA.06 Figures presented in Table 12 of the SWRAWP Annual Report for 2001 reveal thatabout one third of the total permitted reserves of limestone in Somerset (amounting tomore than 247 Mt) are contained within dormant or inactive sites. Nine of those sitesare located within the Mendips and are likely to account for the majority of that figure.A.07 Thus, although the overall position is that the Mendips limestone reserves have a lifeexpectancy of 49 years at current (2001) rates of production, that figure would reduceto around 32 years if the reserves at dormant and inactive sites were excluded. This,of course, still leaves a very substantial surplus of permitted reserves, some of whichcould usefully substitute for other (depleting) supply sources within the region in futureyears.A.08 The analysis presented in Chapter 5 of this report (Table 5.2) reveals that the totalstock of permitted reserves within the Mendips (638 Mt) represents a surplus of morethan 426 Mt compared with the quantity required to meet Scenario 1 expectations forthe period to 2016.Capita Symonds Limited page 53 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGroup B: Carboniferous and Devonian Limestone, Somerset and DevonA.09 This group of quarries is spread out over a much larger area, to the south west of theMendips, and includes both Carboniferous and Devonian limestones. These two rocktypes are different in detail, but they both support the same range of end uses as thequarries in the Mendips. Eleven quarries are included within this group, of which sevenwere active in 2001. Most if not all of them market their products only within the SouthWest Region.A.10 The total production from these units in 2001 was 2.18 Mt, less than one fifth of theoutput from the Mendips quarries, indicating that the quarries here are operating on amuch smaller (though still very significant) scale. The total stock of permitted reservesat Group B sites in 2001 was almost 125 Mt, giving a life expectancy of 57 years atcurrent rates of output. This represents a very substantial surplus of almost 85 Mt overthe quantities needed to meet the ‘Scenario 1’ expectations up to 2016 (see Table 5.2,in Chapter 5).Group C: Carboniferous Limestone, North SomersetA.11 A further four Carboniferous Limestone quarries are located in North Somerset,between Bristol and the Mendip Hills. Two of these were fully operational in 2001; onewas in the process of permanently ceasing production and another in the early stagesof development at that time. These, again, are generally much smaller than the mainMendip quarries but they supply similar products for the same range of end uses,primarily for relatively local use within the Bristol area. Together, they provide a muchsmaller stock of permitted reserves than the Group A sites (61 Mt), but this is enoughto sustain the present (2001) rate of output (2.45 Mt/yr) for a period of 25 years. Interms of the average output needed to meet Scenario 1 expectations for the period to2016, the Group C quarries have a surplus of almost 19 Mt (see Table 5.2 in Chapter5).Group D: Carboniferous Limestone, Forest of Dean, GloucestershireA.12 Five more Carboniferous Limestone sources are located in the Forest of Dean,although current production is concentrated at three main units: Stowfield, Drybrookand Clearwell. Stowfield, the largest individual quarry in terms of reserves, output andproduction capacity, lies wholly within the Wye Valley AONB.A.13 These quarries supply the same range of end uses as those in the Mendips, primarilyto the Cheltenham/Gloucester areas but also into the adjoining parts of South Walesand the West Midlands. The group as a whole has only 16.9 Mt of permitted reserves,sufficient for just 12 years’ supply at current (2001) rates of output.A.14 The SWRAWP has already identified that the limestone quarries in Gloucestershire (asa whole) are facing a shortfall of almost 8 Mt of reserves compared to the ‘Scenario 1’sub-regional apportionment expectations, and the more detailed breakdown provided inthis study identifies the specific shortfall for the Group D quarries as being more than 9Mt (see Table 5.2).A.15 A further 22.7 Mt of known economic resources of Carboniferous Limestone arelocated within preferred areas identified in the Gloucestershire Minerals Local Plan.Some 45% of these (approximately 10 Mt) are located within the Wye Valley AONB,but the shortfall identified above could, nevertheless, be accommodated by releasingnew reserves from preferred areas which, though still affected by other constraints, lieoutside the AONB.Capita Symonds Limited page 54 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGroup E: Carboniferous Limestone, South GloucestershireA.16 The final group of Carboniferous Limestone sources comprises those in SouthGloucestershire (Tytherington, Chipping Sodbury, Wickwar and Wick quarries, withadditional reserves at Cromhall quarry, which is currently inactive). These again supplythe same range of end-uses as the quarries in Groups A to D, mainly to local marketsbut Tytherington Quarry, in particular, is able to supply aggregates to more distantdestinations by virtue of its rail link, and the group as a whole is believed to supplyapproximately 20% of its output into other regions - mainly the South East.A.17 The quarries have a larger average output than those in all other groups, except for theMendips, and also have a large stock of permitted reserves (183 Mt), giving an overall‘lifetime’ of around 61 years for the group as a whole. This represents a verysubstantial surplus of 131 Mt over the quantities needed to meet the ‘Scenario 1’expectations up to 2016 (see Table 5.2, in Chapter 5).A.18 This group thus provides a source of aggregate that could substitute for the shortfall inGroup D on a more or less ‘like-for-like’ basis, and the quarries themselves havesubstantial spare capacity to increase their annual output, if required (not least byreactivating operations at Cromhall, subject to the necessary review of planningconditions). Additional resources have been identified as Preferred Areas in the SouthGloucestershire Minerals & Waste Local Plan.Group F: Granite, Gabbro and related metamorphic rocks, South West CornwallA.19 This group of hard rock aggregate sources includes Carnsew and Chywoon quarries inthe Carnmenellis granite; Dean and West of England quarries in the gabbro of theLizard Peninsula; smaller granite quarries at Castle-an-Dinas and Trevassack; and themetamorphosed dolerite of Penlee quarry.A.20 All of these rocks are very different, geologically, to the Carboniferous and DevonianLimestones described above, but to a large extent they are used for a similar range ofend products, including coarse and fine concreting aggregate, asphalt materials andunbound road aggregates. Unlike the limestones, however, these rocks sometimeshave sufficiently high Polished Stone Values (in the low 50s) to be used in some of theless-demanding road surfacing applications (but only on lightly trafficked, low-speedroads).A.21 Some of the quarries produce coastal armourstone and/or dimension stone as well asaggregates, though the demand for dimension stone, in particular, has been greatlyreduced over the last two decades by cheaper imports from abroad.A.22 Aggregate sales are limited by the relative isolation of many of these quarries from themain centres of demand. Most of the aggregate output is therefore produced for localuse within Cornwall and South Devon. The main exception is Dean Quarry on thecoast of the Lizard Peninsula, which transports much of its output by sea and thus hasthe potential to supply material into other areas.A.23 For Group F as a whole, the various factors outlined above help to explain why theprojected ‘lifetime’ of permitted reserves at these sites is larger than for any other groupof hard rock aggregate sources within the South West: The current stock of reserves issubstantial (124 Mt), but the current rate of output is relatively low (0.93 Mt), giving aprojected ‘lifetime’ of 133 years and a surplus over the ‘Scenario 1’ requirements ofalmost 108 Mt (see Table 5.2). The difficulty (except for sea-borne products from Deanquarry) lies in the isolation of this area from other markets in the South West andelsewhere in the UK.A.24 It is also worth noting that a significant proportion of these reserves, at Penlee quarry,will not be used for general aggregates production, as that site has been proposed forCapita Symonds Limited page 55 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionredevelopment into a coastal marina, following the extraction of armourstone blocks forlocal sea defence projects.Group G: Granite and related metamorphic rocks, N. Cornwall & DartmoorA.25 These hard rock aggregate sources comprise various small quarries in the Dartmoor,Hingston Down, Bodmin Moor and St Austell granite outcrops, together with a variety ofmetamorphically altered rocks at the much larger, rail-linked quarry at Meldon on thenorth western edge of Dartmoor. Although the rock types at Meldon are quite differentfrom those at the other sites in this group, they have more in common with them, interms of end-uses, than with the dolerites and Andesite lavas of Group H, below.A.26 The aggregate from Meldon quarry has traditionally been used as railway ballast, byvirtue of its superior strength characteristics compared against most other crushed rockaggregate sources in England. When used for this high value application, theaggregate can justify long-distance transportation by rail, though that is generally notthe case when the material is used for lower-grade applications. An important elementof any future ‘sustainable’ supply strategy for the South West would therefore be toincrease the proportion of Meldon aggregate that is used as rail ballast and transportedby rail to its destination.A.27 Some of the other quarries in this group (notably those on Bodmin Moor) havetraditionally supplied dimension stone, including granite kerbs and sets, throughoutmuch of the UK. That market has been greatly undermined in recent years, however,by cheaper foreign imports, particularly from India, China and the USA. As aconsequence, much of the output from these units is now used for relatively low gradeaggregate applications, though some is still used as dimension stone.A.28 As with the Group F sources, above, these rocks sometimes have sufficiently highPolished Stone Values (in the low 50s) to be used in some of the less-demanding roadsurfacing applications (but only on lightly trafficked, low-speed roads).A.29 Following the introduction of the aggregates levy in 2002, the relatively low gradeaggregate from all of these sources has been subjected to competition from exemptedsecondary aggregates from china clay workings, located within the same area (seebelow). As a direct consequence of this, Bardon Aggregates have moved intosecondary aggregate production at china clay sites and have ‘mothballed’ two of theirown granite quarries at Luxulyan, near St. Austell and Kessle, near Falmouth (the latterbeing in Group F, above). Substantial stockpiles of currently unsaleable crushed rockfines exist at both of these sites, as a direct result of competition from the china clayaggregate sources.A.30 For the group as a whole, there are reserves of more than 50 Mt which, at 2001 ratesof production, would be sufficient to last for 105 years. The majority of these reserves(almost 42 Mt) are surplus to the ‘Scenario 1’ requirements for the period to 2001 but,with the exception of the rail ballast sales from Meldon, stand very little chance of beingeconomically deployed beyond the local area.Group H: Dolerite, Cornwall & Devon, and Andesite, SomersetA.31 This group comprises relatively fine-grained igneous rocks including the ‘Blue Elvan’dolerites found in the areas surrounding the granite massifs of Dartmoor and BodminMoor, and the andesitic lavas found very locally within the Carboniferous limestones ofthe eastern Mendips.A.32 The large dolerite quarries at Greystone, Trusham and Whitecleaves, the smaller onesat Blackhill and Lean, and also the andesite quarry at Moon’s Hill in the Mendipsprimarily supply aggregate for asphalt products. With PSVs of between 53 and 58,these products include material for road surfacing applications on many local roads andCapita Symonds Limited page 56 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionon some trunk roads and motorways within the South West, though they generally falljust short, or on the borderline, of ‘High Specification Aggregates’ needed for the moredemanding road surfacing applications nationwide (Thompson et al, 2004). Most of thecrushed rock fines from these quarries, as well as the coarse aggregate fraction, areutilised in the various asphalt products, with minimal surplus.A.33 Together with the inactive quarries at New England and Tadhill, these sites have acombined stock of permitted reserves of almost 90 Mt, sufficient to last more than 70years at 2001 rates of extraction. Once again, the majority of these reserves (morethan 65 Mt) are surplus to the ‘Scenario 1’ requirements for the period to 2001 but, inthe absence of any rail or sea connections to larger road surfacing markets in theSouth East and Midlands, stand little chance of being deployed elsewhere.Group I: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Devon & CornwallA.34 A total of 19 separate quarries exploit the Carboniferous sandstones and interbeddedshales of the Carboniferous Crackington and Bude Formations in north-west Devonand north Cornwall, the Grampound Grit of southern Cornwall and the Devonian PiltonShales.A.35 Most of these are relatively small quarries and many of them are inactive at present. Inmany cases, the sandstones are of very high quality, with PSVs and other propertiessufficient for use in the most demanding road surfacing applications (Thompson et al,1992, 2004), but the interbedded shales present major obstacles in terms of overalleconomic viability and only two sites (Venn and Barton Wood) were selling significantquantities of aggregate into the high PSV market in 2001.A.36 Whereas the high PSV road surfacing aggregate can command premium prices andtherefore justify relatively long distance transportation, the bulk of the output from thesesites can only be used to satisfy local, low-grade requirements. The shales, inparticular, can only be utilised as a bulk fill material, and for pipe bedding etc. andmuch of the production cannot be sold (especially when competing against secondaryand recycled products that are exempt from the aggregates levy).A.37 Together, the 19 sites provide a total stock of permitted reserves of some 21 Mt, with acorresponding lifetime of 36 years at current (2001) rates of extraction. This representsa surplus of more than 10 Mt over the quantities needed to meet the ‘Scenario 1’expectations up to 2016 (see Table 5.2, in Chapter 5).Group J: Carboniferous & Devonian Sandstone, Somerset, N. Somerset & S. Gloucs.A.38 The deposits exploited at this very small group of quarries are of similar age to those inGroup I, above, but, while the sandstones are of similar high quality for use as roadsurfacing aggregates, the interbedded shales are either absent or at least far lesssignificant.A.39 The group as a whole has reserves of 3.6 million tonnes, corresponding to a lifetime of61 years at current rates of production. This gives a rather distorted picture, however,since only one of the three sites (RMC’s ‘Quartzite’ quarry) was active in 2001.‘Weak’ Rock Aggregate SourcesGroup K: Jurassic Portland Limestone, DorsetA.40 This group comprises eleven Portland Limestone quarries in Dorset, of which onlyseven were active in 2001. Almost all of the sites are primarily building stone quarries,the main exception being Swanworth, which is primarily an aggregate quarry. At someof the other sites on the Isle of Portland itself, aggregate is produced in much smallerCapita Symonds Limited page 57 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionquantities from the strata above and/or beneath the horizons used for the production oftraditional building stone.A.41 The material is much weaker than that produced from the various hard rock sourcesoutlined above, and is therefore used primarily for relatively low grade applications, but,in the absence of true ‘hard rock’ aggregates in this area, it has been quite widely usedfor such purposes within southern and eastern Dorset. In recent years it has facedgrowing competition from secondary and recycled aggregates which are exempt fromthe aggregates levy and thus have a price advantage.A.42 Together, the Group K sites have estimated aggregate reserves of more than 46 Mt(this being distinct from the reserves of building stone at those sites), and a combinedoutput of aggregate of 0.39 Mt in 2001, giving an apparent lifetime of almost 120 yearsat current (2001) rates of production. A significant proportion of the reserves arelocated within ‘stalled’ IDO permissions on the Isle of Portland, however, and there canbe no certainty that those reserves will be fully exploitable.Group L: Jurassic Limestone and Cretaceous Chalk, excluding Groups K and MA.43 This group comprises numerous Jurassic Limestone quarries and mines within Bath &North East Somerset, Somerset and Wiltshire, together with a number of CretaceousChalk quarries in Dorset, Devon and Wiltshire, some of which produce small quantitiesof low grade aggregate. The two subgroups are quite different in character but arecombined for reasons of commercial confidentiality.A.44 All the Jurassic Limestone units in this group are primarily building stone (‘block stone’)quarries, exploiting a variety of Jurassic Limestone formations, including PortlandStone, the Great Oolite (Bath Stone), the Inferior Oolite, Forest Marble and various Liasformations. Many of them produce significant quantities of waste material during boththe quarrying and processing of the stone, however, and process at least some of thisfor use as aggregate. The quantities are generally very small, however, and they haveto compete with secondary and recycled aggregates of similar (and often better) qualitywhich are exempt from the aggregates levy and thus have a price advantage.A.45 The proportion of reserves at these quarries that is likely to be used as aggregatesamounts to just 2.1 Mt, but this is sufficient to last for more than 30 years at current(2001) rates of production.Group M: Jurassic Limestone, GloucestershireA.46 This Group of around 22 quarries exploits a very similar range of strata to those inGroup L, but further north in Gloucestershire. Nearly all of the sites are located withinthe Cotswolds AONB. Again, most of the sites produce only very small quantities oflow grade aggregate as a by-product of building stone production, but four of thequarries (Daglingworth, Huntsman’s, Guiting and Shorncote) produce more substantialquantities of aggregate (amounting to around 80% of the total for this group), with thisbeing the main product at Huntsman’s and Daglingworth. Again, the aggregate has tocompete against cheaper secondary and recycled materials and has traditionally beenused only for low grade applications, including bulk fill. Increasingly, however, it isbeing used in higher value reconstituted stone products.A.47 Together, the Group M sites have aggregate reserves of around 17 Mt, with acombined annual output of around 0.74 Mt in 2001, giving an approximate lifetime of 23years.Carboniferous Sandstone, Forest of Dean, GloucestershireA.48 Ten sandstone quarries are located in the Carboniferous ‘Pennant’ and ‘SupraPennant’ series sandstones of the Forest of Dean, though only a few of these wereCapita Symonds Limited page 58 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionactive in 2001. Unlike the Pennant Sandstones of South Wales, which are extensivelyused as High Specification Aggregate for road surfacing applications, the Forest ofDean deposits are much weaker. They are used only for building stone production,and are therefore not included in the groups of aggregate sources considered in thisstudy. Very small quantities of aggregate are produced from one further quarry in thisarea, within the Devonian Old Red Sandstone, but the output is insignificant for thepurposes of this study.Sand & Gravel Aggregate SourcesGroup N: Permian & Triassic Sand & Gravel, DevonA.49 The Triassic ‘Bunter Pebble Beds’ and to a lesser extent the Permian ‘DawlishSandstone’ have long been exploited as sources of natural sand & gravel (the Permiandeposits being primarily sand). The deposits are weakly cemented and consolidated,but are readily disaggregated as they are worked and are able to be used for the samerange of applications as the more traditional Quaternary deposits (see below). Someof the ‘oversized’ pebbles have to be crushed down to smaller sizes and, unlike mostQuaternary gravels within the South West, this material can have reasonable PolishedStone Values, making it suitable for use in the production of bituminous road surfacingmaterials.A.50 The deposits are currently worked at only four locations, with a combined reserve ofsome 12 Mt and an output of just over 1Mt in 2001, giving a projected lifetime of just 12years - insufficient to cover the period to 2016. At the increased rates of output thatwould be required to meet Scenario 1 expectations, this group of sources wouldexperience a shortfall of more than 6 Mt. No additional economic resources arecurrently identified within Devon’s Minerals Local Plan.Group O: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, Devon & CornwallA.51 This small group of sites exploit a range of other sand & gravel deposits, from theCretaceous Greensand to Quaternary river gravels. These are generally small scaleoperations with a combined reserve of 3 Mt and a combined output of 0.19 Mt in 2001.This would be just sufficient to cover the period to 2016 at current (2001) rates ofoutput, but not at the increased rates required to meet Scenario 1 expectations. Again,there are no additional economic resources identified within the Minerals Local Plans.Group P: Cretaceous to Quaternary Sand & Gravel, WiltshireA.52 Only eight sand & gravel sites within Wiltshire were active in 2001, but the scale ofoperations is generally larger than for those in Group O, above, especially in the areaof the Cotswold Water Park in the upper Thames valley, where more than 80% of thecounty’s sand & gravel production is located. The deposits there, and in the BristolAvon, Salisbury Avon and Kennet valleys, are Quaternary deposits comprising mainly‘sharp’ sand and clean river gravels, used primarily in the manufacture of concrete. TheCretaceous Greensand deposits quarried elsewhere in the county are used primarily as‘soft’ building sand. In recognition of these differences, separate landbanks aremaintained by the MPA for soft sand and sharp sand & gravel.A.53 Together, the Group P sites have a total stock of permitted reserves of 11.66 Mt, with acombined annual output of 1.39 Mt in 2001, giving a projected lifetime of just 8 years.Taking account of the increased rate of production that would be needed to meetScenario 1 expectations, this area is facing a shortfall of some 18 Mt over the period to2016 (Table 5.2 in Chapter 5).A.54 Further economic resources of similar material are identified within preferred areas inWiltshire, but these amount only to 4.2 Mt. All of these lie within sensitive river valleyCapita Symonds Limited page 59 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionlandscapes and their exploitation would clearly have at least local environmentalimpacts.Group Q: Quaternary and Permo-Triassic Sand & Gravel, GloucestershireA.55 A large number of other Quaternary sand & gravel units, together with two quarries inPermo-Triassic sand deposits are located within Gloucestershire and are groupedtogether to protect the confidentiality of the two Permo-Triassic units. Most of theQuaternary sites are located within the upper Thames Valley and exploit the same typeof deposits as those in the adjoining parts of Wiltshire, as described above. Only eightof these sites, and one of the two Permo-Triassic sites were operational in 2001. Thecombined reserves at all Group Q sites amounts to 11.8 Mt, with an annual output of0.88 Mt in 2001, giving a projected lifetime of 13 years - insufficient to cover the periodto 2016. Once again, when account is taken of the increased rate of productionneeded to meet Scenario 1 expectations, the shortfall of permitted reserves becomesgreater, totalling more than 6 Mt over the period to 2016 (Table 5.2 in Chapter 5).A.56 This shortfall could be accommodated by releasing new reserves from preferred areasidentified within the Gloucestershire Minerals Local Plan but, again, this would haveenvironmental implications.Group R: Tertiary and Quaternary Sand & Gravel, DorsetA.57 The Tertiary and overlying Quaternary deposits are (or have been) worked together atmany sites within Dorset. Together, they provide a full range of gradings from finesand to coarse gravel and are used for the same range of end products as thosedescribed above for Group Q. There is a predominance of sand, however, especiallywithin the underlying Tertiary deposits, and the resulting shortage of gravel in this areais an important factor when considering potential substitution by alternative materials(John Bennett, Dorset MPA, personal communication, January 2005).A.58 In total, this group comprises more than 20 sites, most of which were active in 2001.The total stock of permitted reserves at these sites stands at just under 27 Mt, with acombined annual output of almost 1.8 Mt in 2001, giving a projected lifetime of fifteenyears - insufficient to cover the period to 2016 at those rates of extraction. Once again,however, when consideration is given to the increased rates of production required tomeet Scenario 1 expectations, there is a projected shortfall of permitted reserves overthis period, amounting to more than 9.5 Mt (Table 5.2 in Chapter 5). Once theimbalance between sand & gravel in this area is taken into account, the shortage ofcoarse aggregates is seen to be especially acute.A.59 The overall shortfall could be offset by the release of further reserves from the 5.3 Mt ofknown economic resources identified within preferred areas in Dorset but, again, thiswould have environmental implications and would probably only perpetuate theimbalance between the sand & gravel fractions.Secondary Aggregate SourcesGroup U: Sand from Ball Clay Workings, Devon & DorsetA.60 Imerys and Watts, Blake & Bearne operate ball clay quarries within both Devon andDorset. These deposits are quite different from china clay and, although the sand is anaturally occurring sedimentary deposit, it is extracted only as a by-product of ball-clayworking and is classified by HM Customs and Excise as a secondary aggregatematerial, and has historically been treated as such by the MPAs.A.61 The sand occurs in discrete horizons within the overburden and/or interburden materialat ball clay sites (and at other sites where it is sometimes worked as a deposit in itsCapita Symonds Limited page 60 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionown right). Being a sedimentary deposit rather than a product of granite weathering, itis a much softer (less angular) material. As such, it has none of the ‘cementdisadvantages’ associated with china clay sand.A.62 The sand at ball clay sites is generally not yet exploited, not least because it isproduced erratically during periods of quarry expansion, rather than at a steady rate.The figures given in Table 4.2 are rough industry approximations of the average rate ofproduction that might be expected from two of the main centres of production:Newbridge, operated by Imerys, and Preston Manor, operated by Watts Blake &Bearne. There may be scope, however, for more of this material to be utilised in futureyears.Group V: Devonian Slate WasteA.63 Slate waste is produced at a handful of active slate quarries in Cornwall, and stockpilesexist at many more disused quarries across the County. No figures regarding outputand reserves were able to be supplied by the SWRAWP, but a recent report to ODPMby Symonds Group Limited estimated that annual arisings within the region areapproximately 1.98 Mt, of which 0.2 Mt is available for use as aggregate, and that afurther 0.5 Mt of useable material is available within stockpiles.A.64 Slate waste has an established aggregate use in low value applications, including subbase, pipe bedding, drain stones, aggregate for coated macadam roadbase, andaggregate for some concrete products. The material is also used as low-grade generalfill. Non-aggregate uses include mulch. Some quarries retain waste for site remediationunder planning conditions.A.65 Although increasing, utilisation is still low because of the low quality and value of thematerial, and its distance from the main aggregate markets. Traditionally it has rarelybeen used beyond a radius of about 20 miles from its sources areas, though itsexemption from the Aggregates Levy is now enabling the material to be transportedfurther.Groups W and X: aggregate from China Clay workings, Cornwall & DevonA.66 China Clay is worked in two distinct areas: to the north of St. Austell (Group U) and onthe southern edge of Dartmoor (Group V). In the St. Austell area, production isdominated by Imerys, who operate numerous individual pits in three main ‘miningareas’: Blackpool; Melbur (includes Melbur, Virginia and Wheal Remfry pits) andKarslake (includes Littlejohns, Dorothy and Great Longstone Pits). Additional workingtakes place at Treviscoe, Wheal Martyn and Gunheath Pits, whilst Goonbarrow is nowworked only intermittently to supply particular clay products. A second company,Goonvean, operate three other pits in the St Austell area: Greensplat, Prosper andRostowrack. In the South Dartmoor area, Imerys operate the Lee Moor complex, and athird company, Watts Blake & Bearne (WBB) operates two other quarries at ShaughMoor and Headon.A.67 The combined production of China Clay from all of these sites is approximately 2.5million tonnes per annum. To achieve this, a total of around 22 million tonnes perannum (tpa) of ‘waste’ material is generated. Of this, about 89% (20 million tpa) issuitable for the recovery of secondary aggregate materials, the remaining 11% being amicaceous residue which is disposed of. In the past the ‘recoverable’ waste has alsolargely been tipped, although some of the sand and coarse aggregate fractions have,for many years, been used as construction materials within the local areas. Thearisings include approximately 12-13 million tpa of material that is potentially useable inthis way, though only about 1.9 million tpa are currently used (see below).A.68 The useable material comprises mainly sand and smaller quantities of coarseaggregate washed out with the clay and separated during the later classificationCapita Symonds Limited page 61 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionprocessing to give high quality ‘washed’ products, as well as residual coarse aggregatein the washed material (‘Stent’) remaining on the quarry floor and dirtier materialseparated as overburden before the washing begins.A.69 The washed coarse aggregate fraction from the St Austell area is comparable toprimary crushed granite and is processed (on site) and used in the same way. Thecoarse aggregate fraction in the South Dartmoor area is generally much weaker, as therock is more ‘kaolinised’, and is used only in low grade, non load-bearing applicationssuch as pipe bedding.A.70 The sand fraction from both areas is a high quality material, comprising both high valuebuilding sand and coarser concreting sand. By comparison with most natural sands,and especially with marine dredged sand from the Bristol Channel, the material is moreangular in character and requires the use of much more cement to produce equivalentstrength concrete. This disadvantage is reflected in the lower price of the concretingsand, but does not affect the price of the building sand – for which china clay byproductshave been traditionally used for many decades.A.71 The quantities of useable material that are actually used as secondary aggregate aresteadily increasing, not least because of their exemption from the aggregates levy.Recognising the importance and potential of this strategic reserve, Bardon Aggregateshave struck an agreement with Imerys to market and distribute secondary aggregatesarising from their operations at Blackpool, Melbur, Lee Moor and Trethosa. The lattersite is winding down but new production is scheduled to begin at Karslake in 2005.Tarmac has a similar arrangement with WBB at Shaugh Moor and Headon andGoonvean run their own aggregate operations at each of their three sites in the St.Austell area. Atlantic aggregates deal with some of the material from the Imerysquarries at Gunheath and Littlejohns.A.72 All of the arisings processed by Goonvean and Tarmac are sold as aggregateswhereas a great deal of useable material from the Imerys sites still has to be tipped.This is simply a consequence of the much greater total quantity of arisings from thosesites, rather than a reflection of geological or quality differences. The surplus ofuseable arisings from Imerys sites (approximately 11 million tpa), represents a verysubstantial strategic reserve of material that could potentially be used if marketconditions were different. The barriers at present are primarily those relating to thecosts of transportation (see below for further discussion)A.73 It is estimated that a further 450 – 600 million tonnes of china clay waste are currentlystockpiled in spoil tips, and that the quantity is increasing year on year as more istipped. Of the stockpiled material, an estimated 45 – 100 million tonnes is potentiallyuseable (Symonds Group 2002). However, given that there is very substantial sparecapacity (around 11 million tonnes p.a. – see above) to supply secondary aggregatesfrom the new arisings at Imerys sites, there is no prospect of the older stockpiledmaterial being utilised in the foreseeable future.Capita Symonds Limited page 62 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionTABLE A1: List of Quarries in Each of the Geological / Product GroupsOperator Quarry MPAGeological Age &FormationQuarrystatusEASTINGNORTHINGGROUP A: CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, MENDIPS, SOMERSETBardon Aggregates -South WestCallow RockSomerset CCCarboniferous, Black RockLimestone - BurringtonOoliteActive 344600 155850Bardon Shipham Hill Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 345200 155900Hanson Aggregates -SouthHanson Aggregates -SouthBatts CombeWestbury subMendipSomerset CCCarboniferous, Black RockLimestone - BurringtonOoliteActive 346000 155000Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Active 350500 150300Finlay Concrete Tor Hill Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 355800 145500Foster, Yeoman Ltd Dulcote Somerset CCCarboniferous, Vallis -Clifton Down LimestoneActive 356700 144400Morris & Perry Highcroft Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 361900 148700unknown Emborough Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 362200 150800Gurney SladeQuarries LtdGurney SladeSomerset CCCarboniferous, Dinantian,Clifton Down Limestone -Hotwells LimestoneActive 362600 149700F Morland Stoke Lane Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 366700 147400Hanson Cookswood Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 366900 147900Foster, Yeoman Ltd Torr Works Somerset CCCarboniferous, Black Rock- Hotwells LimestoneActive 369500 143900Tarmac Southern Ltd Halecombe Somerset CCCarboniferous, Black Rock- Vallis LimestoneActive 370200 147500Hanson Cloford Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 371700 144500Hanson Westdown Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 371900 146100Bardon Aggregates -Carboniferous, Black RockColemans Somerset CCSouth West- Vallis LimestoneActive 372600 145300Hanson Aggregates -Carboniferous, Black RockWhatley Somerset CCSouth- Clifton Down LimestoneActive 373200 147900Morris & Perry Limekiln Hill Somerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 373200 148700GROUP B: CARBONIFEROUS & DEVONIAN LIMESTONE, SOMERSET & DEVONBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestCastle Hill Quarry CoLtdCastle Hill Quarry CoLtdE & J W GlendinningLtdBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestHanson Aggregates -SouthKersdown Devon CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 296300 122100WestleighFenacreDevon CCDevon CCCarboniferous, WestleighLimestone GroupCarboniferous, WestleighLimestone GroupActive 306200 117400Active 306700 117700Dunns Hill Devon CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 306800 118800CanningtonParkCastle HillLinhay HillMoorcroftSherfordStoneycombeYalbertonSomerset CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 325100 140300Somerset CCDartmoor NPPlymouthDevon CCDevon CCTorbayCarboniferous, DinantianLimestoneMiddle Devonian, Torquay& Plymouth LimestoneMiddle Devonian, Torquay& Plymouth LimestoneMiddle Devonian, Torquay& Plymouth LimestoneMiddle Devonian, Torquay& Plymouth LimestoneMiddle Devonian, Torquay& Plymouth LimestoneActive 325200 140500Active 277300 71400Active 252500 54000Inactive 254500 53900Active 286200 67400Active 286775 59175Capita Symonds Limited page 63 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP C: CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, NORTH SOMERSETRMC Aggregates(South West) LtdTarmac Southern LtdRMC Aggregates(South West) LtdTarmac Western LtdBackwellStancombeFreemansDurnfordN. SomersetCouncilN. SomersetCouncilN. SomersetCouncilN. SomersetCouncilCarboniferous, CliftonDown LimestoneCarboniferous, CliftonDown LimestoneCarboniferous, CliftonDown LimestoneCarboniferous, CliftonDown LimestoneGROUP D: CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE (FOREST OF DEAN)Active 349300 167800Active 350300 168300Active 351500 166600Active 353700 171400Tarmac Western Ltd Stowfield Gloucestershire CCCarboniferous, Black RockLimestone - LowerActive 355600 210800DolomiteTarmac Rogers Gloucestershire CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 355900 211200Mr & Mrs Waters Shakemantle Gloucestershire CC Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 365500 211500Clearwell QuarriesLimitedHanson Aggregates -SouthClearwellDrybrookGloucestershire CCGloucestershire CCCarboniferous, LowerLimestone ShaleCarboniferous, Black RockLimestone - LowerDolomiteGROUP E: CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, SOUTH CLOUCESTERSHIREActive 356500 207000Active 364100 217900Hanson Cromhall S. Gloucestershire Carboniferous Limestone Inactive 370400 191500Hanson Aggregates -SouthRMC Aggregates(South West) LtdRMC Aggregates(South West) LtdHanson Aggregates -SouthTytheringtonWickWickwarChippingSodburyS. GloucestershireS. GloucestershireS. GloucestershireS. GloucestershireGROUP F: GRANITE & GABBRO, SW CORNWALLCarboniferous, Black RockLimestone - BurringtonOoliteCarboniferous, GullyOolite - Clifton DownLimestoneCarboniferous, CliftonDown LimestoneCarboniferous, Black Rock- Clifton Down LimestoneActive 366000 188700Active 371100 173200Active 372000 189600Active 372700 184400Hanson Penlee Cornwall CC Metamorphosed Dolerite Inactive 146800 27800Castle Granite LtdCastle-an-DinasCornwall CC Land's End Granite Active 148400 34700Aram Resources Trevassack Cornwall CC Granite Active 171200 22200Bardon Kessel Downs Cornwall CC Carnmenellis Granite Inactive 173800 33700S. C. Lawer Chywoon Cornwall CC Carnmenellis Granite Active 174800 34700Aram Resources plc Carnsew Cornwall CC Carnmenellis Granite Active 176000 34500RMC Aggregates(South West) LtdAram Resources plcDean Cornwall CC Lizard Gabbro Active 180200 20800West ofEnglandGROUP G: GRANITE, N CORNWALL & DARTMOORCornwall CC Lizard Gabbro Active 180800 21600Bardon Luxulyan Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Inactive 205400 58900Pisani Ltd Tor Down Cornwall CC Bodmin Moor GraniteIntermittent209600 76600Ennstone Breedon Ltd De Lank Cornwall CC Bodmin Moor Granite Active 210100 75300Ennstone Breedon Ltd Hantergantick Cornwall CC Bodmin Moor Granite Inactive 210300 75700Aram Resources Tregunnon Cornwall CC Active 222400 83300Lantoom Quarry Co Goldiggings Cornwall CC Bodmin Moor Granite Active 225835 72375Mr D Dilworth Darley Ford Cornwall CC Bodmin Moor Granite Active 227350 73700Hanson Aggregates -SouthHingstonDownCornwall CC Hingston Down Granite Active 241000 71900Ennstone Breedon Ltd Merrivale Dartmoor NP Dartmoor Granite Inactive 254600 75300Bardon Aggregates -South WestMeldon Dartmoor NP Meldon Chert Fm Active 257000 92500L. Van Leeuwen Blackenstone Dartmoor NP Dartmoor Granite Active 278400 85780Capita Symonds Limited page 64 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP H: DOLERITE, DEVON & CORNWALL, plus ANDESITE, SOMERSETTarmac (Southern) Lean Cornwall CC Dolerite Active 226400 61300Tarmac (Southern) Blackhill Cornwall CC Dolerite Active 226720 81708Bardon Aggregates -South WestGreystone Cornwall CC Dolerite Active 236700 80600Bardon New England Devon CC Dolerite Inactive 259800 54600Hanson Aggregates -SouthWhitecleaves Devon CC Dolerite Active 273800 65600Hanson Aggregates -SouthTrusham Devon CC Dolerite Active 284900 80900Bardon Tadhill Somerset CC Andesite lava Inactive 368800 146100John Wainwright & Co Moon's Hill Somerset CC Andesite lava Active 366500 146200GROUP I: CARBONIFEROUS & DEVONIAN SANDSTONES, DEVON & CORNWALLAggregates andDevonian, GrampoundGrampound Cornwall CCMineralsGritDormant 193100 49170Messrs J Kingdon & GCarboniferous, Namurian,Cansford Cornwall CCWoodCrackington FormationActive 216800 93100HJ & GA Stratton Pilsamor Cornwall CC Active 227400 85600Penhill Quarry &Haulage LtdPenhill Quarry &HaulagePigsdonColpit (Hescott)Cornwall CCDevon CCRW Vanstone Trewyn Devon CCD E & R Chance LtdBableighWoodDevon CCCooksbury Mill Cooksbury Mill Devon CCTorrington Stone Ltd Beam Devon CCHobbs Properties Ltd Vyse Devon CCHanson Plaistow Devon CCBardon Aggregates -South WestVennDevon CCNewbridge Stone Newbridge Devon CCFaheys Concrete Ltd Knowle Devon CCDr. N. Byron Hearson Devon CCHanson Aggregates -SouthHanson Aggregates -SouthCarboniferous, BudeFormationCarboniferous,Crackington FormationCarboniferous, BudeFormationCarboniferous,Westphalian, BudeFormationCarboniferous, BudeFormationCarboniferous,Westphalian, BudeFormationDevonian, Pickwell DownSandstoneDevonian, BaggySandstoneCarboniferous,Crackington FormationCarboniferous, BudeFormationCarboniferous, Namurian,Crackington FormationCarboniferous, PiltonShalesActive 227800 109600Inactive 228000 124900Active 233500 104300Active 239300 120800Active 241000 106000Active 247000 120300Inactive 249100 141100Inactive 256800 137200Active 258000 130500Active 259400 111200Active 259500 96300Active 260600 129200Brayford Devon CC Devonian, Pilton Shales Inactive 268800 133800Barton Wood Devon CC Devonian, Pilton Shales Active 269100 132900RT Edworthy & Sons Hayne Devon CCA Sanders Tuckingmill Devon CCCarboniferous, BudeFormationCarboniferous, BudeFormationActive 271400 103200Inactive 272500 103500GROUP J: CARBONIFEROUS & DEVONIAN SANDSTONES, SOMERSET & S GLOUCESTERSHIREConygar Quarry Conygar N. SomersetGliddonRMC Aggregates(South West) LtdWestQuantoxheadQuartziteCarboniferous, PennantSeries SandstoneInactive 342200 172200Somerset CC Inactive 311300 141600S. GloucestershireCarboniferous, CromhallSandstoneActive 369200 189900Capita Symonds Limited page 65 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP K: JURASSIC, PORTLAND LIMESTONE, DORSETAlbion Stone QuarriesLtdHanson Bath &Portland StoneHanson Bath &Portland StoneHanson Bath &Portland StoneHanson Bath &Portland StoneHanson Bath &Portland StoneHanson Bath &Portland StoneAlbion Stone QuarriesLtdHanson Bath &Portland StoneBowers(Bowyers)Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 368400 72000Grangecroft Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Inactive 368400 70900Southwell Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Inactive 368800 69800Inmosthay(Fancy Beach)Dorset CCJurassic, Portland StoneIntermittent368900 72500Coombefield Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 369000 70500Coastal Strip Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Inactive 369000 70000Perryfield Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 369400 71100Independent &AdmiralityDorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 369400 72600Broadcroft Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Inactive 370000 72000W J Haysom & SonSt Aldhelm'sHeadDorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 396440 76090Tarmac Southern Ltd Swanworth Dorset CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 396800 78400GROUP L: JURASSIC LIMESTONE & CRETACEOUS CHALK (excl groups K & M)Pensford plc Stowey BANES Lias Limestone Active 359700 158700Bath Stone Group Stoke Hill Mine BANESJurassic, Great Oolite(Bath Stone)Active 377800 160800Ham & Doulting StoneJurassic, Upper Lias HamHam Hill Somerset CCCo LtdHill StoneActive 347700 117300Ham Hill Stone Ham HillJurassic, Upper Lias HamSomerset CCCompany LtdQuarry SouthHill StoneActive 348200 116200Mr Brian Wellstead Station Somerset CC Jurassic, Lower Lias Active 353200 129000Ham & Doulting StoneCo LtdAbbey(FarringtonLane)WestCranmoreHurdcottQuarryWestwoodMineSomerset CC Jurassic, Inferior Oolite Inactive 365300 143700Minsterstone (WharfLane) LtdSomerset CC Jurassic, Inferior Oolite Active 366100 143100Chilmark StoneLimitedWiltshire CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 404949 129901Hanson Bath &Jurassic, Great Oolite IntermittWiltshire CCPortland Stone(Bath Stone)ent380564 159710Hanson Clift Mine Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 384200 169700A & J Bull Ltd Knockdown Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Forest Marble Active 384300 187800Hanson Moor Park Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 384300 168800Hanson Bath &Portland StoneHartham Park Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Oolite Active 385200 170400Hanson Bath & Monks ParkJurassic, Great Oolite IntermittWiltshire CCPortland Stone Mine(Bath Stone)ent388100 168300Chicksgrove QuarryLtdChicksgrove Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 396200 129600Chilmark StoneLimitedTeffont Mine Wiltshire CC Jurassic, Portland Stone Active 397608 131614Not listed in RAWPreportUpper Lawn N. Somerset JurassicHanson Beer Devon CC Cretaceous, Chalk Active 321500 89500unknown Whitesheet Hill Dorset CC Cretaceous, Chalk Inactive 358500 98200unknown Castle Hill Dorset CC Cretaceous, Chalk Inactive 370200 105100Shillingstone Lime &StoneShillingstone Dorset CC Cretaceous, Chalk Inactive 382400 109800Imerys Minerals Ltd Cocknowle Dorset CC Cretaceous, Chalk Active 393100 82250Hanson Aggregates -SouthMere Wiltshire CC Cretaceous, Chalk Active 384000 133000Lafarge Cement UKLtdWestbury Wiltshire CC Cretaceous, Chalk Active 389000 150500Not listed in RAWP WitheringtonreportDownWiltshire CC Cretaceous, Chalk 403300 198000Imerys Minerals Ltd Quidhampton Wiltshire CC Cretaceous, Chalk Active 411400 131300Biffa Whiteparish Wiltshire CC Cretaceous, Chalk Inactive 421700 124300Capita Symonds Limited page 66 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionE & J W GlendinningUplyme Devon CC Cretaceous, Chalk 331300 91900LtdGROUP M: JURASSIC LIMESTONE, GLOUCESTERSHIREStone Supplies(Cotswold) LtdVeizey's Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Great Oolite Active 388200 194400Hanson Birdlip Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 394700 213600Hanson Aggregates -SouthDaglingworth Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Great Oolite Active 399000 206000Hanson Aggregates - GuitingJurassic, Inferior Oolite,Gloucestershire CCSouth(Coscombe)Birdlip Limestone FmActive 407700 230400Cotswold Hill Stone Cotswold HillLtd(Guiting)Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Inferior Oolite Active 408042 229400Huntsmans Three Gates Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 408100 229400Oat Hill Quarry Ltd Oat Hill Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Inferior Oolite Active 410300 228900Huntsmans Huntsmans Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Active 412500 225400OTS Holdings Ltd Happylands Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Closed 412900 235900Farmington NaturalStone LtdFarmington Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Great Oolite Active 413100 216900Huntsmans QuarriesJurassic, Chipping NortonHornsleasow Gloucestershire CCLtdLimestoneInactive 413300 232300Cotswold StoneCompanyBrockhill Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Active 413400 223800Cotswold StoneJurassic, Chipping NortonSwellwold Gloucestershire CCQuarriesLimestoneInactive 414800 226900Stanleys Quarries Stanleys Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Inferior Oolite Active 415100 236300Frampton WoodsConsultantsSoundborough Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 415200 221500Frampton WoodsConsultantsOxleaze Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 422500 205300Huntsmans Shenberrow Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Inactive 408300 233870Hills Minerals andWaste LtdShorncote Gloucestershire CC Jurassic, Oolite Active 402800 197100GROUP N: PERMIAN & TRIASSIC SAND & GRAVEL, DEVONBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestBardon Aggregates -South WestHanson Aggregates -SouthHayes Quarry LtdBardon Aggregates -South WestBishops CourtBlackhillRockbeare HillHillheadWhiteballGravel PitHayes FarmSandpitVenn OtteryDevon CCDevon CCDevon CCDevon CCDevon CCDevon CCDevon CCPermian, DawlishSandstoneTriassic, BudleighSalterton Pebble BedsTriassic, BudleighSalterton Pebble BedsTriassic, BudleighSalterton Pebble BedsTriassic, BudleighSalterton Pebble BedsPermian, DawlishSandstoneTriassic, BudleighSalterton Pebble BedsActive 296400 91300Active 303300 85500Active 305800 94800Active 306500 113500Active 308800 118700Active 299000 94500Inactive 306600 91300GROUP O: CRETACEOUS TO QUATERNARY SAND & GRAVEL, DEVON & CORNWALLHanson Aggregates -SouthHarleyfordAggregates LtdBabcombe &Sands CopseDevon CCCretaceous, UpperGreensandActive 286800 76300Zig Zag Devon CC Eocene, Aller Gravel Active 288000 69000Talisman Solutions Haldon Devon CCCretaceous, UpperGreensandInactive 289100 84300Axminster Carpets Ltd Kilmington Devon CC Quaternary, River Gravel Inactive 327500 97600E & J W GlendinningCretaceous, UpperUplyme Devon CCLtdGreensandActive 331300 91900Hanson Aggregates -SouthGwithian Cornwall CC Quaternary, Beach Sand Active 158300 41300DownderryConstruction GroupTrewint Marsh Cornwall CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 221650 80180Capita Symonds Limited page 67 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP P: CRETACEOUS TO QUATERNARY SAND & GRAVEL, WILTSHIRESahara Melksham LtdSaharasandpitWiltshire CC Closed 393800 164800Hills Minerals and High PennWasteFarmWiltshire CC Inactive 401300 172900Bardon Aggregates -South WestFreeth Farm Wiltshire CC Inactive 402700 172900Hills Minerals & CotswoldWasteCommunityWiltshire CC Active 403500 196300Bardon Aggregates - North EndSouth WestWorksWiltshire CC Inactive 404700 195800Moreton C Cullimore(Gravels) LtdKent End Farm Wiltshire CC Active 405526 194886Hills Minerals and WickwaterWasteFarmWiltshire CC Inactive 406700 195100Bardon Aggregates - ClevelandSouth WestFarmWiltshire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 406900 194500Moreton C Cullimore Manor Farm(Gravels) LtdComplexWiltshire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 403881 194132Cotswold Aggregates Latton Lands Wiltshire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 407900 196400TarmacCleansing ServicesGroupCleansing ServicesGroupEysey ManorFarmWiltshire CC Inactive 411000 194500Pound Bottom Wiltshire CC Active 422000 117800BrickworthQuarry (MoorFarm)Wiltshire CC Inactive 422400 123600Hayward Giles Lane Wiltshire CC Inactive 427100 120200Bardon Aggregates -Cretaceous, LowerCalne Sand Wiltshire CCSouth WestGreensandActive 401600 171000Hills Minerals and ComptonCretaceous, LowerWiltshire CCWaste LtdBassett NorthGreensandActive 402000 170900GROUP Q: CRETACEOUS TO QUATERNARY SAND & GRAVEL, GLOUCESTERSHIREMoreton C CullimoreNetherhill &FramptonGloucestershire CC Inactive 376700 206800Not listed in RAWPreportShowborough Gloucestershire CC Inactive 390500 238500Elliot & SonsTransport LtdShurdington Gloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 391200 179000Huntsman's Sand & BishopsGravelCleeveGloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 393800 227400Hills Minerals andWaste LtdShorncote Gloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 402000 196000Gloucestershire Sand Spratsgate& Gravel Co Ltd LaneGloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 402700 195600Bardon Aggregates -South WestSouth Cerney Gloucestershire CC Active 405100 196800Hills Minerals andWaste LtdOaktree Fields Gloucestershire CC Inactive 406600 195100Hills Minerals andWaste LtdCerney Wick Gloucestershire CC Inactive 407500 195500Hanson Aggregates -SouthHorcott Gloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 415000 199800Multi-Agg Ltd Stubbs Farm Gloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 417000 197000Hanson Aggregates -SouthThornhill Farm Gloucestershire CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 418100 200500Not listed in RAWP SomerfieldreportKeynesGloucestershire CCActiveBardon Aggregates -South WestManor Farm Gloucestershire CC Inactive 417200 197700RMCBromsberrow Sand &GravelBromsberrowSouthBromsberrowGloucestershire CC Inactive 373800 232800Gloucestershire CCPermian, BridgnorthSandstone, BromsgroveSandstoneActive 373850 232800Capita Symonds Limited page 68 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP R: TERTIARY & QUATERNARY SAND & GRAVEL, DORSETunknownNot listed in RAWPreportBardon Aggregates -South WestBatehamsFarmDorset CC Inactive 334000 104400West Stafford Dorset CC 375200 88900WarmwellDorset CCTertiary, Poole Formation -Quaternary Plateau GravelActive 375500 88000HansonWarmwellAirfieldDorset CC Active 376400 88300G Crook & Sons Moreton Dorset CC Active 378200 88600Hanson Hyde Dorset CC Active 385500 89400Hanson Aggregates -Tertiary, Poole Formation -Masters North Dorset CCSouthQuaternary Plateau GravelActive 387000 88500Hanson Aggregates -Tertiary, Poole Formation -Masters South Dorset CCSouthQuaternary Plateau GravelActive 386200 89000Hanson Aggregates -Masters South Dorset CCTertiary, Poole Formation -Active 387350 88200SouthHanson Aggregates -SouthWareham Ball ClayCo LtdMasters SouthWareham BallClay - SandDorset CCQuaternary Plateau GravelTertiary, Poole Formation -Quaternary Plateau GravelActive 388100 87600Dorset CC Tertiary, Poole Formation Active 388500 87500unknown Northport Dorset CC Inactive 390600 89400Bardon Aggregates -Tertiary, Poole Formation -Tatchells Dorset CCSouth WestQuaternary Plateau GravelActive 390700 88800Tertiary, Poole Formation -M B Wilkes Ltd Henbury Dorset CCQuaternary TerraceActive 396400 97500GravelS.I.T.A. Landfill & Beacon HillQuarries (South) BrickworksDorset CC Tertiary, Poole Formation Active 398100 95100Bartlet ContractorsClockhouseCopseDorset CC Inactive 441700 97000WoodsfordFm, HurnCourt Fm,Avon CommonBardon Aggregates - ChardSouth WestJunctionDorset CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 334500 104500Hanson Aggregates -Quaternary, PlateauWest Knighton Dorset CCSouthGravelActive 374000 88500Bardon Aggregates -South WestBestwall Dorset CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 393000 88000RMC Aggregates Longham(Southern) Ltd LakesDorset CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 406090 97690BFI Ltd Chapel Lane Dorset CC Quaternary, River Gravel Active 410250 98890GROUP V: DEVONIAN SLATE, CORNWALLF J Warne & SonsLamparrowStoneCornwall CC Portscatho Series Dormant 193300 44600R A JonasTredinnickLower Devonian,Cornwall CCDownsBedruthan FormationActive 193500 68800Mr E J Hillson Tynes Cornwall CCUpper Devonian, Jacket'sPoint FmActive 204300 82000Merryfield Quarry Merryfield Cornwall CCUpper Devonian, Jacket'sPoint FmActive 204300 81800Mr R Uglow Trecarne Cornwall CCUpper Devonian, Tredorn IntermittSlate Fment205940 84580Lantoom Quarry Co Westwood Cornwall CC Middle Devonian, Slates Active 218500 64400Capita Symonds Limited page 69 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionGROUP W: SECONDARY AGGREGATES AT CHINA CLAY WORKINGS, ST AUSTELL AREABardon Aggregates -South WestMelbur Cornwall CC St Austell Granite Active 192400 55500Goonvean Ltd Goonvean Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 194700 55300Bardon Aggregates -South WestTreviscoe Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 194700 55920Goonvean Ltd Rostowrack Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 195200 56300Goonvean LtdBardon Aggregates -South WestGt WhealProsperCornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 195350 56540Blackpool Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 198050 54050Goonvean Ltd Greensplat Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 199850 55330Goonvean LtdCarabisCommonCornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 199950 58670Atlantic aggregates Gunheath Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 200200 56700Atlantic Aggregates Goonbarrow Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active? 200700 58100Atlantic Aggregates Littlejohns Pit Cornwall CC St.Austell Granite Active 198000 57000GROUP X: SECONDARY AGGREGATES AT CHINA CLAY WORKINGS, S DARTMOOR AREATarmac (Southern) Shaugh Moor Devon CC Dartmoor Granite Active 256300 63400Bardon Aggregates -South WestLee MoorComplexDevon CC Dartmoor Granite Active 257000 62400Tarmac (Southern) Headon Devon CC Crownhill Down Granite Active 257900 60200Capita Symonds Limited page 70 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionAppendix B: Sustainability Issues Relating to Aggregates Supply OptionsB.01 Sustainable development is all about achieving a stable balance between economic,social and environmental ‘systems’, such that these will not be changed to thedetriment of future generations. This involves balancing the demands of economicdevelopment and the needs of both individuals and society against each other andagainst the needs of the natural environment. Whereas individual actions areimportant, sustainability can only be properly assessed by taking into account theoverall behaviour of social, economic and environmental ‘systems’ on a regional orlarger scale.B.02 Considering the ‘relative sustainability’ of two or more alternative scenarios is also amore realistic goal than attempting to measure it in absolute terms. This can be doneby considering the likely implications of proposed changes on the ‘stocks’ of twelvedifferent types of environmental, social and economic ‘capital’, and the potential ‘flows’of benefits that can be derived from these. Table B1, below, shows the relevance ofthese twelve items of capital to the production, processing, transportation and use ofaggregates.Table B1: Twelve items of environmental and social/economic capital and theirrelevance to the production and transport of construction aggregatesNo.Six items ofenvironmental capitalRelevant issues1 Fossil fuels. Includes energy used in the production, processing transportation and utilisation ofaggregate, plus that associated with workforce travel-to-work.2 Soil resources and nonenergyminerals.Includes issues relating to the conservation, where appropriate, or efficient use, ofsoil and non-energy mineral resources, together with the minimisation of quarryingwaste and the utilisation of secondary and recycled aggregates.3 Fresh water resources. Includes considerations of both quantity and quality of surface water andgroundwater resources within terrestrial environments.4 Seas and oceans. Includes sea water quality, currents and coastal processes (very important tomarine dredged aggregates but not generally relevant to inland quarries)5 The atmosphere andclimate.Includes emissions of carbon dioxide, pollutants and dust associated with theproduction, processing and transportation of aggregate, and with the generation ofmains electricity used in quarries.6 Ecosystems. Includes both positive and negative impacts of quarrying on habitats, biodiversityand biological conservation.No.Six items ofsocial/economic capitalRelevant issues1 Human health. Includes health & safety issues to quarry personnel and visitors, together with thestress and health effects on others that may be associated with quarrying noise,vibration, dust, general air quality and traffic. Also includes less tangible ‘quality oflife’ issues such as landscape quality and visual impact. Potential future impactsmay include those associated with landfilling.2 Knowledge and learning. Includes educational opportunities associated with quarrying and the quality of jobsand training, together with potential impacts on archaeology and heritage.3 Social inclusion. Includes issues arising from employment (quantity and quality) and crime (e.g.vandalism). Could also include issues such as governance4 Housing. Includes the availability and suitability of house building materials, possible damageto housing (e.g. linked to vibration, land instability or flood risk), and competition forspace.5 Manufacturing andmeans of production.6 Transport and energyinfrastructure.Includes factories and other means of economic production. Aggregate productsunderpin the production of ‘value-added’ construction materials, though this wouldoccur irrespective of the specific sources used.Includes impacts on the road network from materials transport, plus contributions toinfrastructure from relevant materials.Capita Symonds Limited page 71 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionB.03 In order to be able to understand the implications of changing from one supply scenarioto another, it useful to consider some of the generic sustainability issues associatedwith the production, transportation and use of aggregates. These are briefly outlinedbelow, as a guide for any subsequent detailed assessment that might be carried out.Production IssuesB.04 The sustainability issues associated with aggregate production relate to the extractionand processing of aggregate within the source locations and also (in many cases) tothe further processing activities (such as concrete batching or the manufacturing ofbituminous mixtures) which takes place at other sites. The issues are discussed underthe following headings, each of which may feed into one or more of the twelve items ofcapital listed in Table B1, above:" Geological Resources" Waste" Energy" Air Quality" Noise and Vibration" Water Environment" Landscape and Biodiversity" Social and Economic IssuesGeological ResourcesB.05 In the context of this study, the consumption of geological resources relates essentiallyto primary aggregates. Non-renewable energy resources (hydrocarbons or ‘fossilfuels’) are considered separately under the heading of ‘energy’ (see below) and waterresources are covered under the ‘water environment’ section. Other geologicalresources, including those required for the manufacture of machinery parts, officeconsumables, bitumen and any other products involved in aggregate production mightalso be considered, but are likely to remain relatively constant between each of thedifferent options under review.B.06 With regard to aggregate consumption, the concept of sustainability places emphasison the prudent and efficient use of available resources. In this context, the maincontrast is therefore inevitably between traditional (‘primary aggregate’) quarries andalternative (secondary and recycled) aggregate sources. The latter have clearadvantages in terms of reducing the demand on primary materials, but these benefitsmust, of course, be considered alongside all other aspects of their utilisation, includingdurability, performance and environmental impacts whilst ‘in service’.B.07 Primary aggregates are all ‘finite’ resources but none of them can be consideredparticularly scarce in terms of their geological occurrence. A very important distinctionmust be made, however, between the existence of suitable geological deposits and theavailability of proven, safeguarded and exploitable resources. For sand & graveldeposits, in particular, much of the potentially suitable available material is eithersterilised by existing development or constrained by a growing list of planning andenvironmental designations.Capita Symonds Limited page 72 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionB.08 As demonstrated in this report, there are shortages of sand & gravel in all parts of theSouth West and this emphasises the need to be as prudent and efficient as possible inthe rate of consumption of these materials, from a practical as well as ‘sustainability’point of view.B.09 Another aspect of geological resources that must be taken into account is that ofgeological conservation. Almost all quarries provide interesting exposures ofgeological strata and most operators acknowledge this by allowing educational visits byschools and university students. In many cases, the exposures revealed by quarryinghave been designated as geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) orRegionally Important Geological or geomorphological Sites (RIGS). Occasionally thefeatures of interest may be such that they constrain future working of a particular face,but more commonly this is not the case, as there is more to be gained from observingnew exposures as the quarry continues to be worked.B.10 Thus, whilst designated geological conservation sites should properly be considered as‘resources’ in their own right, in most cases these resources are not diminished bycontinued extraction of the mineral.WasteB.11 In any consideration of sustainability, it is important to look at the wider issues ofefficient resource use, and to avoid equating compliance with waste managementregulation with fully sustainable behaviour.B.12 The European Waste Framework Directive requires any material (from a very wideranginglist of categories) “… which the holder discards or intends or is required todiscard” to be regulated as waste. The tendency over recent years has been for courtsand regulators throughout the EU to expand the interpretation of ‘discard’, andtherefore of ‘waste’. Under a 2002 ruling from the European Court of Justice g , evenclean, serviceable granite chippings produced as a by-product of quarrying blocks ofdimension stone have to be regulated and managed as waste if they are stockpiled in aquarry with no specific use immediately in mind. Arguments about the ‘utility’, ‘value’and ‘absence of environmental threat’ associated with a material are no longer relevantto its classification as waste. In due course, the implications of this particular ruling arelikely to be formalised through the adoption of a ‘Directive on the Management ofWaste from the Extractive Industry’.B.13 As the Waste Framework Directive makes clear, where possible, waste should be reusedwithout the need for processing. The implication of this is that classifying (andregulating) a material as waste is not intended to imply a sleight on its value.Unfortunately this interpretation contrasts with the general public perception of wasteas something that is ‘undesirable’.B.14 Scalpings used to find a ready market as low grade aggregates and bulk fill, althoughthese opportunities have been significantly reduced in some quarries since April 2002by the impact of the Aggregates Levy (the level of which – currently £1.60 per tonne –represents a substantial increase in the price of these materials). As a directg See European Court of Justice Case C-9/00 Palin Granit Oy vs Vehmassalon kansanterveystyön kuntayhtymän hallitus. The ECJaccepted the advice of Advocate General F G Jacobs (given in January 2002) that “Leftover stone resulting from stone quarrying whichis stored to await possible use, failing which it will remain indefinitely on the site, is to be regarded as discarded or intended to bediscarded and is accordingly to be classified as waste ... It is not relevant to the classification of the leftover stone as waste (a) whetherit is stored on the quarrying site, a site next to it or further away; (b) that it is the same as regards its composition as the basic rock fromwhich it has been quarried and does not change its composition regardless of how long it is kept or how it is kept; (c) that it is harmlessto human health and the environment or (d) that it can be recovered as such without processing or similar measures.”Capita Symonds Limited page 73 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionconsequence of this impact, and with the prospect of future increases in the levy still tocome, these by-products are increasingly likely to be discarded in future years and willthus fall into the above definition of ‘waste’.B.15 Crushed rock fines are a very variable commodity, being highly sought after in certainquarries (e.g. those exploiting deposits of dolerite and Carboniferous Limestone) butvery difficult to sell from others (notably the Carboniferous Sandstone quarries). Thedifference depends on the physical properties of the material – particularly its sizedistribution, shape characteristics and mineralogy. Limestone fines, for example, areoften an important constituent of concrete products, having the same basic mineralogyas the coarse aggregate fraction from the same quarries and a complementary sizedistribution. The fines from igneous rock quarries also has a very similar mineralogy tothe coarse aggregate content of road surfacing and concrete materials produced atthose quarries. The dust from sandstone quarries, on the other hand, more oftencontains a disproportionately high content of clay minerals, compared to the coarseaggregate fraction, and this often has undesirable and/or deleterious properties interms of concrete and asphalt production.B.16 Other waste issues that are important for inclusion in environmental managementsystems (ISO 14001:1996), but that are more difficult to compare between individualproduction sites without a more detailed assessment procedure than used here, aresuch things as the management of hazardous wastes (e.g. oils, batteries, asbestos)and general mixed wastes (paper, packaging etc). For the purposes of this study it hasbeen assumed that there are no significant differences between different aggregatesources in respect of these issues.Energy IssuesB.17 Energy consumption is a major sustainability issue and one which is more readilyquantified than most. It is important, not only in terms of depleting non-renewableglobal resources of energy minerals – particularly hydrocarbons – but also because ofthe impact that this has on global climate change through the release of carbon dioxide(CO2) – see section on air quality, below.B.18 Hydrocarbons are used both directly, in the form of fuel for vehicles and mobile plant,and indirectly through the use of mains electricity, more than 73% of which, in the UK,is derived from coal- or gas-fired power stations. A further 22% of mains electricity isderived from nuclear power stations (thus consuming nuclear fuels) and only about 4%is currently derived from renewable energy resources.B.19 Most quarries use mains electricity to power their fixed plant (crushers, screens,conveyors and pumps) and gas-oil to run their mobile plant (face shovels, dumpertrucks and other vehicles, and any mobile crushers and screens). Gas oil is alsogenerally used to power mobile crushers used in recycling operations and to powermarine dredging equipment. Stored energy, in the form of high explosive compoundssuch as ammonium nitrate, is used in most hard rock quarries.B.20 There are inevitably some fundamental and major differences in energy consumptionbetween hard rock quarries (which require blasting and crushing to produceaggregate), recycled and secondary aggregates (which require only crushing and/orscreening) and natural sand & gravel sources (both land-based and marine) whichgenerally require only washing and/or screening.B.21 In hard rock quarries, the thickness of overburden that must be removed before rockcan be extracted, and the amount of blasting and further breaking up of rock to producea size of material suitable for the primary crusher all need to be considered.Capita Symonds Limited page 74 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionOverburden is often removed by mechanical excavators, adding to the directconsumption of fossil fuels, whilst the rock itself is generally released from the quarryface by fragmentation blasting. The quantity of explosives required varies from onequarry to another, depending on the strength of the rock and, in particular, on thenature and spacing of natural discontinuities (bedding planes, joints and otherfractures) within the rock.B.22 Once the rock has been excavated, the distance and gradient of the haul road to theprimary crusher will greatly affect the amount of gas-oil used by dump trucks and theamount of electricity used by conveyor systems, where these are used. Again there isa clear difference between sand & gravel and hard rock quarries: the latter areinvariably larger and deeper with longer and/or steeper haul roads and will thereforetend to consume far more energy than shallower and smaller sand & gravel units. Inthe case of marine aggregates, the energy involved in lifting material from the sea bedneeds to be taken into account, whilst for recycled materials, the energy requirementsof any initial transport to the processing site must be considered.Air QualityB.23 Air quality issues associated with the extraction and processing of aggregate relateprimarily to dust generation from blasting (in the case of hard rock quarries) and thevarious other processes involved, and to emissions from fixed and mobile plant.Whereas dust generation can be (and usually is) mitigated in various ways, otheremissions are more difficult to control and are directly related to the combustion offossil fuels.B.24 Most crushers are powered by mains electricity and are thus ‘free’ of emissions (otherthan dust) within the immediate quarry environment (the impact occurring at the powerstations instead), whereas mobile crushers powered by gas-oil are a significant pointsource of pollution within quarries and recycling depots/demolition sites.B.25 The most significant emissions are those of Carbon Monoxide (CO) (which becomesoxidised to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - the major ‘greenhouse gas’ contributing to globalwarming), together with PM10 particulates, oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and VolatileOrganic Compounds (VOCs), which can all have impacts on local air quality andhuman health.B.26 Further emissions are associated with the production and heating of the bitumenneeded to produce coated aggregates of various types, though these impacts are notparticularly dependent on the type of aggregate used.B.27 More significant are the differences between one type of aggregate and another in thequantity of cement required in the production of concrete and mortar products: Bycomparison with natural sand & gravel, crushed rock has more angular grains and thusrequires a greater quantity of cement in order to produce concrete or mortar ofcomparable strength. This, in turn, has important sustainability implications because ofthe very high costs, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associatedwith the manufacture of cement. To a lesser extent, the same also applies to chinaclay sand, which tends to be ‘sharper’ than most natural sands.B.28 In all cases, however, the significance of these differences depends on the nature ofthe sand that is being replaced: the substitution of very soft, marine dredged sand fromthe Bristol Channel with crushed igneous rock would produce a marked difference withvery significant implications in terms of embodied energy and greenhouse gasemissions, whereas the substitution of sharp river sand with china clay sand would beexpected to produce much smaller differences.Capita Symonds Limited page 75 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionNoise and VibrationB.29 The primary sources of noise and vibration resulting from aggregate quarryingcomprise:" blasting at the quarry face, and the breaking up of large blocks by mechanical‘peckers’;" the transportation of rock to the primary crusher;" crushing and screening processes; and" loading into trucks for distribution.B.30 Again, there are clear generic differences to be seen between hard rock quarries(where most noise is generated, but where soundproofing measures help to limit theimpact on surrounding areas); recycling depots (which can generate substantial noisewithin built up areas); and other aggregate sources, which are generally much quieteroperations. The actual level of noise arising from a quarry will be determined by thenature of the quarrying and processing techniques being used, the type and age ofmachinery involved, the effectiveness of mitigation measures used and, not least, bythe topography of the site. For example where quarrying and processing of material iscarried out at the bottom of a deep excavation, noise arising from these activities willbe shielded to a much greater extent than if they were taking place near the top of anexcavation or on an exposed hillside.Water EnvironmentB.31 All aggregate sources make use of water for such things as wheel washing, dustsuppression and, in some cases, for washing aggregate products before they are usedin concrete or bituminous mixtures. In quarries, this water is commonly abstractedfrom groundwater or a nearby surface watercourse, subject to Environment Agencylicences. In most cases the water is recirculated through settlement lagoons whichremove suspended solids, allowing the water to be continually re-used. Thissubstantially reduces the quantities that need to be abstracted. Such recycling is notalways possible, however, for example when the settlement lagoons are not able toreduce suspended sediment sufficiently to prevent clogging of spray nozzles. In suchcases, greater quantities of clean water may need to be abstracted and/or mains watersupplies may have to be used instead.B.32 In some quarries, the water used for these various purposes is that which has to bepumped out of the quarry for operational and safety reasons. This may be incidentrainfall and minor seepage into the quarry from the unsaturated zone within theadjoining strata, or it may be groundwater that needs to be pumped either continuouslyor intermittently to permit working below the water table.B.33 Within quarries, the actual ‘consumption’ of water is usually much less than the quantityabstracted, since the majority of it is either discharged to nearby surface watercourseswithout being used, or after being used and passing through settlement lagoons.Some of the water may be ‘recharged’ directly back into the local aquifer where this ispossible, as a mitigation measure to help reduce the ‘drawdown’ of groundwater levels– though this is more common for sand & gravel pits and limestone quarries than atother sites. There are still ‘losses’ however, mainly from evaporation (both naturallyand in the heating of washed aggregate prior to coating), and in the transfer of waterfrom one ‘source’ (the local aquifer) into another (e.g. a surface watercourse).Capita Symonds Limited page 76 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionB.34 The overall impact of quarrying on the water environment, however, is far morecomplex than the simple measurement of water abstraction or losses, and is highlydependent on local circumstances.B.35 The DETR Guide to Good Practice on “Reducing the Effects of Surface MineralWorkings on the Water Environment” h highlighted the fact that quarries can haveadverse impacts on the levels, flows and quality of both groundwater and surface waterin a wide variety of different ways. It also demonstrated that the risks involved aremuch greater for certain types of sites (those in floodplains and major aquifers) than forothers and that, for any site, most of the potential effects can be successfully avoidedor mitigated, using a variety of best practice techniques. Most quarries do, in fact,make good use of the best available mitigation techniques and, as a consequence ofthis, reported incidences of adverse residual impacts are very rare.B.36 Surface watercourses are more commonly under threat from the inadvertent dischargeof water with a high content of suspended solids. The potential for this is generallygreatest in quarries excavated into hillsides, where excess water is managed bypassive drainage schemes. These normally incorporate oil and grease interceptors,settlement lagoons and, in some cases, reed bed filtration systems - all designed tocomply with requirements imposed by the Environment Agency, but can becomeoverwhelmed during major rainfall events, leading to the discharge of silty water intoreceiving watercourses. Deeper quarries, which use pumping to extract excess water(whether from incident rainfall or groundwater), offer greater control in this respect.Landscape and BiodiversityB.37 Quarries are integral parts of the landscape (and local economy) in many rural areas,but they also have direct and unavoidable impacts on landscape and biodiversity.Recycling depots, by contrast, are generally located within existing urban areas, butthere may still be issues relating to visual impact within the built environment. Marinedredging operations have no impact at all on the visible landscape, but they can havesignificant impacts on the topography of the seabed which, in some but not allsituations, might adversely affect coastal processes and nearby beaches. Work carriedout by Symonds Group for the Welsh Assembly, in relation to dredging in the BristolChannel, demonstrated that this is not always the case, however, and that the nature ofsuch effects is highly dependent on local circumstances.B.38 In the case of land-based quarries, where the open workings and quarry plant are morelikely to be visible from public viewpoints and residential areas, they are seen by some(but not all) as disharmonious elements of the landscape, especially where the quarriesare located in otherwise tranquil or scenic areas. Where working extends beyond thehours of daylight, site lighting may create additional impacts – especially in areas thatwould otherwise have ‘dark’ landscapes, unaffected by other sources of light pollution.In locations where there are several quarries in close proximity there may becumulative effects from both active and legacy workings.B.39 New quarries and extensions to existing sites are well regulated in all of theserespects, however and, most impacts from these sites are substantially reduced bymitigation. As a broad generalisation, providing that important ridgelines / visualhorizons are not breached, quarries located within upland plateaux or wooded ridgesh Thompson, Easton, Hine & Huxley, 1998: “Reducing the Effects of Surface Mineral Workings on theWater Environment: A Guide to Good Practice”: produced by Symonds Travers Morgan (now CapitaSymonds) for the former DETR (now the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister). 212ppCapita Symonds Limited page 77 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regioncan more easily contain or mitigate any adverse landscape and visual impacts thanthose located on exposed valley floors or valley sides.B.40 Landscape impacts and their solutions are intimately linked to biodiversity issues:landscape features that are lost to quarrying may be very closely associated withparticular habitats and species; but these can often be re-created elsewhere within thesite. Moreover, quarry restoration often provides opportunities for the creation of moreinteresting, yet still harmonious or complementary features, often including rockoutcrops, open water features, wetland environments, woodlands, wet and dryheathlands, and unimproved grassland.B.41 In many cases, these provide ‘niche’ or ‘priority’ habitats for the support and protectionof endangered species, so that the ‘net’ impact of quarrying on landscape andbiodiversity can be a constructive, rather than a destructive one, in the long term. Suchbenefits can, in many instances, be gained whilst the workings are still active, withunrestored faces often providing nesting sites for birds of prey such as kestrels andperegrine falcons.B.42 In the case of marine dredged aggregate sources, the impacts on biodiversity are oftenfar more difficult to assess, but are generally minimised by ensuring that very detailedsurveys are carried out as part of the environmental impact assessment process; bymodifying licence applications, if necessary, to avoid the most sensitive areas; and byapplying best practice dredging techniques which avoid damaging spawning areas atcritical times and which encourage regeneration.Social and Economic IssuesB.43 Social and economic issues are linked to the human health, knowledge/learning, socialinclusion, manufacturing and infrastructure aspects of sustainability. A very wide rangeof indices on these issues are collected by quarry companies, ranging from levels ofemployment, staff welfare, pay and conditions, and equal opportunities to health &safety training records, accident statistics, educational visits, facilitating research intolocal geology and industrial/cultural archaeology, liaison with local communities,investment in local projects and contributions in various ways to both local and nationaleconomies.B.44 For the purposes of more strategic assessments, these various topics need to besimplified to a more limited range of key issues, such as direct and indirectemployment, contributions to the local economy, education and research (coveredunder geological conservation, above) and the scale of local vandalism or seriouscrime.B.45 Also pertinent to social and economic issues are the efforts made by quarry operatorsto minimise the environmental impacts of quarrying (in terms of noise, vibration, dust,air quality, ecology, water resources and traffic etc) on the surrounding communities.Those mitigation efforts are taken into account under the headings considered earlier.B.46 In terms of direct employment, aggregate production has become increasinglyautomated over the last decade, with widespread use of computer controlled crushing,screening and loading procedures, especially at the larger hard rock quarries. Thismeans that relatively few people are now employed within quarries and limits thedifferences that are likely to arise between one unit and another.B.47 Managerial, marketing and other ‘Head Office’ staff associated with aggregateproduction and sales have also been greatly reduced by the consolidation that hastaken place within the industry in recent years. Less affected by these changes are theCapita Symonds Limited page 78 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionjobs associated with transportation and with the installation of final products, but thoseare considered separately in paragraphs B.49 et seq., below.B.48 Other indirect employment and economic benefits created by aggregate sources andcoating plants is associated with local businesses that depend either wholly or partly onthe individual quarries and the custom of their employees. The importance of thesejobs to the local economy is dependent on that area’s local unemployment levels (i.e.the higher unemployment is, the more significant jobs become). Such jobs are alsoparticularly important in rural areas, where they contribute to the ODPM objective of“Creating Sustainable Communities”.Transport IssuesB.49 The sustainability issues associated with the transport of aggregate relate to the modeof transport as well as to the distances and routes involved. Many of the impacts, suchas energy consumption and employment levels are ‘internalised’ (i.e. reflected in thetransport costs), whereas others (such as emissions affecting both local air qualityimpacts, congestion, accidents, noise, and traffic severance) are not.B.50 These and other issues are considered below under the following headings, each ofwhich feed into one or more of the twelve different items of capital listed in Table B1,above:" EnergyEnergy" Air Quality" Noise and Vibration" Employment" Accidents" Congestion" Transport infrastructure" Traffic nuisanceB.51 The energy consumption associated with all types of aggregate transport will clearly beaffected by mode of transport (road, rail, sea and, potentially, inland waterway).Although precise details are not readily available, it is evident that the majority ofaggregate transportation within the South West takes place by road. Railtransportation is used primarily to move aggregates from the South West to otherRegions, and the same applies also to transport by sea (though much smallerquantities are currently involved).B.52 The reason for the dominance of road transport is partly because of the economicsinvolved (rail and sea transport are more expensive than road haulage for shortdistances) but also because of the flexibility and wider distribution options that roadhaulage allows. It is also a matter of infrastructure availability: most coating plants,concrete batching plants and aggregate distribution depots are located inland and arenot rail connected.B.53 There are, however, many potential environmental benefits to be gained from rail andsea transportation, since these are far more ‘energy-efficient’ forms of transport. Thisis of major significance in terms of any sustainability analysis, since energyconsumption equates directly to the rate of consumption of fossil fuels and to the rateof emission of harmful greenhouse gasses and other pollutants (see below).Capita Symonds Limited page 79 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionB.54 For any given mode of transport, all of these factors will be directly proportional to thedistances travelled. In detail, they will also vary according to the size and age oflorries/trains/vessels used, the nature of the route (in terms of gradients for road andrail journeys, but also road type, vehicle speed and frequency of junctions), andwhether or not there are opportunities for the back-haulage of other goods. Whereback haulage is possible, all of the costs and impacts of the return journeys caneffectively be assigned to the other cargoes, rather than to the delivery of aggregates.Air QualityB.55 Emissions of varying pollutants associated with the burning of diesel and fuel-oil occurduring transportation. Most significantly these include Carbon monoxide - CO (whichbecomes oxidised to Carbon dioxide - CO 2 ), together with PM 10 , SO 2 , NO X and VOCs).These emissions are measured in grammes per kilometre per second (g.km -1 s -1 ), andare therefore proportional to both the distance travelled and the length of time taken.The latter will be greater when travelling on congested routes and through urban areas.Emissions are also affected by the fuel efficiency of the vehicles used.B.56 Although marine shipping is responsible for considerable global emissions of CO 2 , SO 2and NOx, the emissions per tonne of product are very small.Noise and VibrationB.57 All forms of motorised transport generate noise and vibration from the engine and othermoving parts, with additional noise being created through contact with the road or rails,as appropriate, and through the loading and unloading of cargoes.B.58 Whether any material impact arises from these effects will, however, depend largelyupon the distance between the road (or railway) and receptors (e.g. nearby housing),and also the background level of noise from other sources. The effects will be ofgreatest significance on routes through conurbations where large numbers of peopleare affected, and where routes pass close to otherwise quiet rural towns, and will beleast in areas of open countryside. Transportation by inland waterway, where this isfeasible, will have far more limited noise impacts and transport by sea will clearly haveno impact at all, except for loading and discharging operations at the ports.EmploymentB.59 Due to their greater efficiency, compared with road haulage, rail and sea transportwould support fewer jobs in the haulage industry. For any given mode of transport,however, the number of working hours, and thus the number of jobs supported, will beproportional to the total distances involved.AccidentsB.60 Road accidents are an inevitable consequence of transportation by road, especiallywhen transport takes place on fast roads (other than motorways) in urban areas andconurbations. Any growth in traffic volumes and/or total mileages involved can beexpected to increase the incidence of crashes, but account must be taken of the typesof road involved. Conversely, switching to rail or sea transport can be expectedsignificantly to reduce these problems.CongestionB.61 Road congestion is also directly linked to the volume of traffic but, again, this is alsostrongly dependent upon the type of road involved. Slow moving HGVs will have theCapita Symonds Limited page 80 June 2005

Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regiongreatest impact on congestion when they travel on single carriageway roads –especially in areas which are already congested, as in most conurbations.Transport InfrastructureB.62 All traffic contributes to the general wear and tear of the transport infrastructure andthus to the need for other maintenance and periodic reconstruction or upgrading. Theimpact of HGV traffic will be felt most on minor roads, and least on the primary routenetwork.Traffic NuisanceB.63 Other impacts of road transportation are more difficult to define, but may be groupedunder the general heading of ‘traffic nuisance’. They include such things as road safetyand the fear of accidents, restrictions on cycling and walking, visual intrusion and‘severance’ – where HGV traffic has a tangible effect in disrupting communities bybreaking down the linkage that would normally be expected between opposite sides ofa road.B.64 As with many of the issues considered above, these things are dependent on the typesof road involved and the extent to which the routes pass through sensitive towns andvillages. Such things are reflected within the ‘Sensitive Lorry Mile’ (SLM) valuesproduced by the Department of Transport and the Strategic Rail Authority (with the aimof assessing the benefit of transferring freight from road to rail).In-service Performance IssuesB.65 In setting out to assess the relative sustainability of different scenarios, account shouldideally be taken of the long term factors – particularly the in-service performance ofdifferent materials. This is necessary because, for any given type of construction andlocal conditions, these factors will determine the length of time the construction will beexpected to last before needing to be repaired or replaced, and will thereby affect thelong-term sustainability of a particular option, when compared with alternatives.B.66 This concept is most readily applicable to road surfacing materials, where there is anexpectation of the need to provide periodic maintenance, and where aggregate qualityhas a very direct influence on performance. Aggregate that has a poor resistance tothe stresses imposed on it by trafficking will need to be replaced more frequently thanhigher quality material. Even here, however, it has proved extremely difficult toquantify the factors involved (Thompson et al 2004, Roe & Woodward 2003).B.67 This concept is introduced because of the logical need to consider these issues,though it is felt unlikely that a satisfactory way will be found of doing this for such abroad ranging study covering all permutations of aggregate type and end-use.Capita Symonds Limited page 81 June 2005