London Aggregates Working Party LAWP 13/04 July 2013
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London Aggregates Monitoring 2012 London Aggregates Working Party LAWP 13/04 July 2013 - 0 - Contents Executive Summary 3 1 London Aggregates Working Party 6 2 Scope of this Report 6 3 The National Planning Policy Framework 7 4 London Plan 8 5 Quarries 9 Land-won sand and gravel 6 Wharves 9 Landings of marine dredged sand and gravel Crushed rock imports Land-won sand and gravel 7 Rail Depots 10 Crushed rock Land-won sand and gravel Marine dredged sand and gravel 8 Aggregates Recycling 11 9 Environment 11 10 Aggregate Consumption 11 11 Local Plans 12 Tables 1 Quarries: Sand and Gravel – Sales, Permissions and Reserves 2003-2012 13 2 Quarries: Sales of Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 14 3 Quarries: Sand and Gravel Landbank 2003-2012 15 4 Wharves: Sales of Marine Dredged Sand and Gravel, Crushed Rock and Land-won Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 16 5 Rail Depots: Sales of Crushed Rock, Land-won Sand and Gravel and Marine Dredged Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 17 Figures 1 London : Active Quarries, Wharves and Rail Depots 18 2 Quarries: Sales of Land-won Sand and Gravel compared with Permissions 2003-2012 19 3 Quarries: Reserves of Land-won Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 20 4 Wharves: Sales of Marine Dredged Sand and Gravel, Crushed Rock and Land-won Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 21 5 Rail Depots: Sales of Crushed Rock, Marine Dredged Sand and Gravel and Land-won Sand and Gravel 2003-2012 22 Appendices A Active and Inactive Aggregate Quarries, Wharves and Rail Depots at end 2012 23 B Planning Applications: Permissions, Refusals, Undetermined and Withdrawn Applications in 2012. 26 C Key Milestones for Minerals in Local Plans July 2013 27 2 Executive Summary This AM2012 report for London has been prepared from returns made by the operators of quarries, wharves and rail depots in London in response to a London wide survey, together with data on applications from London Boroughs. The report also puts the findings in the context of the National Planning Policy Framework, the Guidance on the Managed Aggregates Supply System and the London Plan. The National Planning Policy Framework The NPPF requires MPAs to make provision for a steady and adequate supply of minerals; to define mineral safeguarding areas; to safeguard wharves, rail heads and certain aggregate processing facilities and plant The NPPF requires MPAs to participate in an Aggregates Working Party; to prepare an annual Local Aggregates Assessment; to make provision for the land won or other elements of their LAA in their mineral plans, taking account of the advice of the AWP and the National Aggregate Coordinating Group (NCG) as appropriate. Guidance on the Managed Aggregate Supply System AWPs are to produce an annual report on minerals activity in their area, provide technical advice to MPAs on the adequacy of an LAA, and provide an assessment on the position of overall demand and supply in its area, including whether, in its view, the area is making a full contribution towards meeting both national and local needs London Plan The Plan requires four London Boroughs to make provision together for a landbank of at least 5Mt of land–won aggregate through designations in their local development documents, and maintain that level of provision throughout the plan period to 2031. This in effect requires a provision to be made London- wide for at least 0.7mtpa. Land-won Sand and Gravel 3 Sales in 2012 were some 0.3Mt tonnes, less than 50% of the provision sought in the London Plan. This is the lowest land-won sales in the last decade, less than half the average sales for the preceding four years. Permitted reserves of sand and gravel now stand at 1.2Mt, limiting any potential for the London Plan provision being met unless further applications are made and permissions granted. Marine Dredged Sand and Gravel Sales of marine dredged sand and gravel from London wharves was some 3.8Mt in 2012, a 4% increase on the 2011 figure. London continues to be heavily dependent on marine aggregate which now provides 45% of its primary aggregate supplies. Imports of Crushed Rock Sales of crushed rock from rail depots and wharves in London in 2012 amounted to 3.4Mt, a substantial decrease of 0.6Mt compared with the 2011 figure. Some 85% of all the crushed rock to rail depots was imported from the South West and East Midlands. Aggregate Recycling It is estimated by GLA that 7.9Mt of CDEW produced in London in 2012 was recycled, largely as aggregate, providing some 40% of London’s aggregate supply. Environment All the sand and gravel quarries in London, hence all the 0.3Mt sand and gravel sales and the 1.2 Mt of reserves, are in the Metropolitan Green Belt In contrast, all the R Thames wharves and rail depots are in the built up area. None are in the Metropolitan Green Belt or in a site covered by a national environmental designation, such as an SSSI or NNR. Over 7Mt, 85%, of primary aggregate supplies are transported to London by sea or by rail Aggregate Consumption The 2012 survey did not include detailed data that would provide accurate consumption figures for London. 4 Comparing the data recorded in 2012 with that in the wider survey of 2009 which included figures for cross boundary movements, it is likely that London primary aggregate consumption was less than 9Mt in 2012. Local Plans Three of the four named London Boroughs in the London Plan have adopted Core Strategies, but only LB Redbridge has an adopted Minerals Plan. The delay by three London Boroughs in submitting and adopting plans with allocations for minerals, and the lack of planning applications by industry in response to the adopted minerals plan are contributory factors to the low sales figure and the London Plan provisions not being met. 5 1. London Aggregates Working Party 1.1 The London Aggregates Working Party (LAWP) was formed in 2003, completing the coverage of Aggregate Working Parties (AWPs) for all of England. The Working Party is drawn from officers of the mineral planning authorities (MPAs) in London (the London Boroughs), the Greater London Authority (GLA), the minerals industry through the Mineral Products Association (mpa) and the British Aggregates Association (BAA), and government representatives from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The Crown Estate, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Port of London Authority (PLA) are also represented, together with representative from adjoining AWPs in eastern and south east England. 1.2 The working party is a technical advisory body with the task of monitoring the supply and demand for aggregates at the London wide scale. LAWP advises both the GLA, which is responsible for the London Plan including minerals policies for London, and government through DCLG and the National Aggregates Coordinating Group. 2. Scope of this report 2.1 As with previous AM surveys, this AM2012 report is primarily a monitor at the London wide scale. Data on primary aggregates sales from land-won sand and gravel sites, wharves and rail depots for 2012 has been provided by operators via the AWP technical secretary who collated the individual site returns. The PLA has also assisted with data on wharves. Only three boroughs have active sand and gravel workings, but four times as many have one or more wharves and/or rail depots. An inventory of quarries, wharves and rail depots is provided in Appendix A. 2.2 AM2012 also provides an update on the progress of Local Plans for those boroughs with aggregate resources – see section 11 below and Appendix C. 1 2.3 The planning context for this report is the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Guidance on the Managed Aggregate Supply System2 at the national 1 National Planning Policy Framework, DCLG March 2012 2 Guidance on the Managed Aggregate Supply System, DCLG October 2012 6 level, and the London Plan3 published in July 2011 as the overall strategic plan for the capital. 3. The National Planning Policy Framework 3.1 The NPPF states that minerals are essential to support economic growth and our quality of life. MPAs should, inter alia: - identify and include policies for extraction of mineral resource of local and national importance in their area whilst taking account of the contribution that substitute or secondary materials might make to mineral supplies, - define Mineral Safeguarding Areas and adopt appropriate policies in order that mineral resources are not needlessly sterilised, - safeguard existing planned and potential rail heads, links to quarries, wharfage and processing facilities for bulk transport by rail, sea or inland waterways of minerals, including recycled, secondary and marine-dredged materials - safeguard planned and potential sites for concrete batching, the manufacture of coated materials, other concrete products and the handling, processing and distribution of substitute, recycled and secondary aggregate material - set out policies to encourage prior extraction of minerals where practicable and environmentally feasible - recognise that some noisy short term activities are unavoidable to facilitate minerals extraction - put in place policies to ensure that worked land is reclaimed at the earliest opportunity and that high quality restoration and aftercare takes place. 3.2 MPAs should plan for a steady and adequate supply of aggregates by - preparing an annual Local Aggregates Assessment (LAA), either individually or jointly by agreement with other MPAs - participate in the operation of an Aggregates Working Party and take the advice of the AWP into account when preparing their LAA - make provision for the land won and other elements of their LAA in their mineral plans, taking account of the advice of the AWP and the National Aggregate Coordinating Group (NCG) as appropriate.