Sand and gravel resources of the Borders region of Scotland

This report is based upon published information, unpublished records in the Institute’s files and a limited amount of recent observation in the field. It relates to resources and not to reserves. In the quantitative calculations little account has been taken of restraints to working the deposits, except that built-up areas have been indicated and mentioned in the text. Conservation and amenity considerations have been given only passing mention in the knowledge that detailed advice on these aspects can be had from the Nature Conservancy Council, 12 Hope Terrace, Edinburgh EH9 2AS. The report has been assembled on the basis of information available at 31 October 1975. It is inevitably incomplete because of the uneven data cover and for some deposits no quantitative assessment has been attempted because of the dearth of relevant fact. All quantities are approximate and, without doubt, silt, clay and other unsuitable materials have been included in places in the gross calculations. No account has been taken of deposits less than 2 m thick. For each District the resources have been divided wherever possible into those above and those below the water table, so that the comparison can be made between the resources available to methods of extraction traditional in Scotland and resources available in some places by dredging. A list of working sand and gravel pits in each District, all of which were visited between August and October 1975, is given.