Minerals Local Plan 2014: Draft Amendments - 2021
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Minerals Local Plan 2014: Draft Amendments - 2021 1 2 Foreword According to the British Geological Society, on average each person in the UK uses more than ten tonnes of minerals and metals in one year (the same weight as seven cars).This figure includes minerals products you use at home and a share of minerals, metals and fuels used in leisure, retail, transport, work and public facilities. Because minerals are so important to our economy and quality of life, the Government requires us to ensure there are enough reserves to meet the needs of construction and other industries. In Essex the main minerals we produce are sand and gravel (aggregates). However, the extraction of minerals can have impacts on the landscape, environment and the quality of life of local residents. Such impacts are to be minimised through the use of planning policies, contained in this document, for the supply of minerals. The MLP provides up-to-date planning policy for minerals development in Essex until 2029. In particular, it gives certainty as to the location of future minerals development i.e., through site allocations. Landowners and mineral companies with preferred or reserve sites in this Plan will need to come forward with applications for planning permission setting out how impacts will be addressed, e.g., through Environmental Impact Assessments. The Plan includes details of how mineral sites should be restored and reused allowing us to keep the balance between the demand for minerals against the need to protect the environment and quality of life. We’re challenging site promoters, in particular, to promote habitat creation as an after-use. Throughout its preparation the MLP has been shaped by comments from stakeholders and the public of Essex through a series of public consultations, alongside evidence of how Essex is changing and how growth can be supported. The adoption of this Plan represents a milestone in providing Essex with the framework it needs to ensure a steady supply of aggregate, supporting alternative sources of supply and managing mineral development within acceptable social and environmental limits. Councillor John Jowers Cabinet Member for Libraries, Communities & Planning Essex County Council July 2014 (as amended 2020) 3 This document sets out proposed amendments to the Essex Minerals Local Plan. The current Essex Minerals Local Plan was adopted in 2014. It sets out a range of policies guiding minerals development in the County, ensuring that the best possible use of finite resources is made. As the Plan has been adopted for five years, we are required to review the effectiveness of the policies within the Plan. This document sets out the proposed amendments to the Plan for your consideration. Minerals are essential. Every person in the UK generates a demand for nearly four tonnes of aggregates a year. Paper, glass, plastics, steel, cosmetics, medicine, even some of the food we eat - are manufactured using materials derived from mineral extraction. Without new supplies of minerals, we could not maintain our homes, schools, offices, shops or hospitals, nor could we build any more - every new home requires an average of 60 tonnes of mineral products. Minerals also provide the basis for our transport network and for our water and sewage systems. Between 20-25% of aggregates produced nationally are used for road maintenance, with modern asphalt surfaces significantly reducing road noise and increasing road life. Different uses require different minerals, and it is a simple fact that minerals can only be extracted where they are found. In Essex the main minerals we produce are sand and gravel, which have multiple uses in the construction industry. Essex is also a producer of silica sand, chalk and brick clay, with some of the latter sites having been dug since the Tudor period. However, no area can be self-sufficient in minerals. Essex is reliant on imports of hard rock from the West County and the Midlands, and in turn exports some of its excavated sand and gravel. However, the majority of mineral extracted in Essex goes to support the Essex economy. We recognise that mineral extraction can have an adverse effect on communities and the environment if poorly planned. To that end, the Plan contains policies to protect local amenity and quality of life. The after-uses of mineral extraction can however provide numerous community benefits including new open space and wildlife sites. A real success of the Plan has been to secure commitments to deliver almost 200ha of priority wildlife habitat following the first five years of its 15-year lifetime. This draft Plan represents the emerging view of the County Council. There is now a real opportunity for you to help us in formulating our new minerals policy. We all have the same aim - to make Essex a better place to live and work, and I urge you to have your say. Councillor Tony Ball Cabinet Member for Economic Development Essex County Council July 2014 (as amended 2020) 4 Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................. 2 Contents ................................................................................................................................... 4 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 12 Background ............................................................................................................................ 12 The Economic Importance of Minerals .................................................................................... 13 A Spatial Plan - A New Form Of Local Plan The Plan Area..................................................... 14 The Minerals Supply Hierachy Hierarchy ................................................................................ 15 The Plan Area......................................................................................................................... 15 The Plan Period ...................................................................................................................... 15 The Plan’s Legal Status .......................................................................................................... 15 Marine Aggregate Provision .................................................................................................... 16 Minerals Development Covered by Plan ................................................................................. 16 Other Useful Information ......................................................................................................... 17 Web based information and guidance ..................................................................................... 17 2.0 Spatial Portrait and Key Minerals Planning Issues ............................................................ 19 Essex at a Glance................................................................................................................... 19 Spatial Portrait ........................................................................................................................ 24 County of Essex ..................................................................................................................... 24 Future Growth ......................................................................................................................... 26 Planned Major Infrastructure Schemes ................................................................................... 27 County Mineral Resources ...................................................................................................... 29 Sand and Gravel ..................................................................................................................... 29 Silica Sand ............................................................................................................................. 30 Brickearth and Brick Clay ........................................................................................................ 30 Chalk ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Mineral Links with Other Areas................................................................................................ 31 Hard rock ................................................................................................................................ 31 Marine dredged aggregates .................................................................................................... 31 Sand and Gravel ..................................................................................................................... 31 What mineral resources do we export? ................................................................................... 31 How are our Minerals Transported? ........................................................................................ 32 Key Mineral Issues to be Addressed by This Plan ................................................................... 32 3.0 The Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 36 Spatial Vision .......................................................................................................................... 36 Aims and Strategic Objectives ...............................................................................................