Aggregates : is there a need for indigenous production in England?

Quality of life in a modern society depends on having the right infrastructure, of the right quality, in the right places – housing, schools, hospitals, transport links, workplaces and recreation facilities. All these elements of the built environment require aggregates in their construction. However many people today fail to make the connection between their standard of living and the quarries that are required to provide that standard. With the opposition to mineral extraction becoming more vociferous and with increasing competition for land uses, this research project, funded through the Aggregates Levy, examined England’s true ‘need’ for aggregates together with the costs and benefits to society and the economy of indigenous supply. It also considered whether it is physically possible to import large quantities of aggregates and assessed the likely implications of doing so. The research found that the demand for aggregates is created by society’s desire for a high standard of living and that the true ‘need’ is to meet that demand. It determined that aggregates extraction directly contributes £810 million to the English economy and this outweighs the estimated environmental cost of indigenous extraction of approximately £445 million. England’s current aggregates requirement is more than double the existing port capacity for dry bulk cargoes and importing large quantities of aggregates would likely double the cost of this material, with serious consequences for downstream industries. There will continue to be a need to meet demand for aggregates and this will have to be provided mainly from indigenous sources for the foreseeable future.