Sub-Regional Apportionment of Aggregates in the West Midlands

Technical Consultation

The West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) is seeking technical views from the West Midlands Regional Aggregates Working Party (WMRAWP) as a key stage in the progression of options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates in the West Midlands to 2020.

On 29th June 2009 the Government issued revised national and regional guidelines for the provision of aggregates for the period 2005-2020.

The revised regional guideline total provision for the West Midlands is 370 million tonnes of materials to be provided over the next 16 years and comprises the following requirements and assumptions:-

165 million tonnes of sand and gravel
82 million tonnes of crushed rock
100 million tonnes of alternate materials (secondary and recycled aggregates)
23 million tonnes of imports, principally from Wales.

The new guidelines replace the June 2003 guidelines which are incorporated in Policy M2 of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) which was approved in June 2004.

The revised guideline figures show no change to the draft figures consulted upon by Government in April 2008 and which were used in the WMRSS Phase Three Options consultation which was issued for public consultation by the WMRA in summer 2009.

Before the regional guidelines can be used in the preparation of minerals development plans they need to be broken down, as far as possible, to Mineral Planning Authority (MPA) areas. This apportionment of the regional guidelines is the responsibility of the WMRA (as the Regional Planning Body), taking into account advice from the MPA's and the WMRAWP.

The Government requested that the apportionment be completed and submitted to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) by the end of December 2009. At the WMRA's request, this deadline has been extended for the West Midlands to the end of March 2010.

DCLG has also indicated that the sub-regional apportionment needs to be accompanied by a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA).

When the sub-regional apportionment has finally been completed, the apportionment becomes a material consideration in decision making by the Regional Planning Body and MPAs. The regional guideline and apportionment will form the basis of an Interim Planning Statement and is then expected to be incorporated into a future revision of the Regional Strategy (Strategy for the West Midlands) where it can be tested and subjected to full public participation. The apportionment can be subject to further testing through minerals planning documents in the Local Development Framework processes.

The WMRA are considering a number of options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates. Options based on past sales trends have been prepared by the WMRAWP Technical Secretariat . It is recognised that these apportionment options essentially reflect "historical shares" rather than an appraisal of future needs. As a result, WMRA commissioned consultants to develop "alternative" apportionment options which seek to take account of the likely availability of materials, future patterns of development, environmental and other considerations.

The Assembly Board, at its meeting on 15th January 2010, recognised that the sub-regional apportionment required difficult decisions. The Assembly Board noted that technical work on the apportionment options was still in progress, including a technical consultation with the WMRAWP, with a view to the Assembly seeking a common solution by the end of March 2010. The RSS Coordination Group, at its meeting on 3rd February, agreed that the way forward would be to present Members of the Regional Planning and Environment Executive (RPEE) and Assembly Board with apportionment options based on both the WMRAWP scenarios and the LUC methodology.

Between 18th December 2009 and 22nd January 2010 the WMRA undertook a technical consultation with WMRAWP members on eleven options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates.

The technical consultation with WMRAWP did not produce a consensus view on a preferred sub-regional apportionment option. There was a polarisation of views, with particularly marked differences of opinion between Staffordshire and Stoke who favoured an option based on the LUC methodology and the other MPA's and industry representatives who favoured an option based on past sales trends.

At its meeting on 9th February 2010 the majority of WMRAWP members agreed (Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent strongly disagreed) to recommend that the Regional Assembly consider "Option 1c (10 year average)" as an option for determining the apportionment for both sand and gravel and crushed rock.

Based on the new guideline figures and a distribution derived from an average of the past 10 years sales (Option 1c), a new sub-regional apportionment for sand and gravel and crushed rock would be as follows:

Table 1: Sub-regional apportionments for sand & gravel - 10 Year Average (Option 1c)

Table 2: Sub-regional apportionments for crushed rock - 10 Year Average (Option 1c)

* West Midlands County apportionment redistributed between the other counties in 2006.
† Staffs figures included in total for Warwickshire for confidentiality reasons

The WMRAWP's reasons for choosing Option 1c was that it provided a better indication of trends over time and would iron out any temporary fluctuations in sales figures. The WMRAWP also considered an option based on past trends to be a tried and tested method, and led to an apportionment that related well to existing supply patterns in the region and was supported by the industry representatives. WMRAWP agreed that for the purposes of carrying out the apportionment the 10 year period for calculating the average would be 1998 -2007.

The WMRAWP agreed that if the Assembly was minded to use an alternative apportionment methodology based on that developed by LUC, then the two new options presented to the WMRAWP on 9th February 2010 (Option F and a refined Option F (with Phasing)) should be subject to a further limited consultation with WMRAWP members from 17th -26th February 2010.

The WMRA are inviting views and evidence from WMRAWP representatives by 26th February on:

Option F based largely on past sales and
Refined Option F- which introduces a phased change in apportionment methodology from past sales to one based on a number of factors

Option F and Refined Option F are explained and outlined in the LUC Consultation Paper, available by clicking here.

The tables below outline the sub-regional apportionment for sand and gravel (Table 3) and crushed rock (Table 4) based on Option F.

Table 3. Sand and Gravel apportionments based on Option F (based on5 year average)

Table 4 - Crushed rock apportionments based on Option F (based on 5 year average).

The tables below outline the sub-regional apportionment for sand and gravel (Table 5) and crushed rock (Table 6) based on Refined Option F.

Table 5 Sand and Gravel apportionments based on Refined Option F (phasing)

Table 6 Crushed Rock Apportionments based on refined Option F (phasing)

In the light of views emerging from the technical consultation with WMRAWP, comments from the Regional Planning & Environment Executive (on 23rd February) and findings from the Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulation Assessment, a revised paper outlining the apportionment options and a recommended preferred approach will be prepared and considered by the RSS Coordination Group on 8th March. In accordance with the conclusions reached by the RSS Coordination Group, a full report will be prepared for consideration and approval by the Assembly Board at its 17th March meeting.

For further information please contact David Clarke on 0121 678 1023 or email d.clarke@wmra.gov.uk.

West Midlands Regional Aggregates Working Party (WMRAWP) Representatives

Mineral Planning Authorities

Paul Wilcox - Staffordshire CC (Chair)
Jasbir Kaur - Warwickshire CC (Secretary)
Tony Lyons - Warwickshire CC
Matt Griffin - Staffordshire CC
Malcolm Bell - Shropshire Council
Nick Dean - Worcestershire CC
Debby Klein - Herefordshire Council
Brian Dore - Birmingham City Council
Dawn Harris - Walsall MBC
Craig Rowbottom - Wolverhampton MBC
Mohammed Salim - Sandwell Borough Council
David Piper - Dudley MBC
Maurice Barlow - Solihull MBC
Rob Haig - Coventry CC
Dave Coxill - Telford and Wrekin
Brian Davies - Stoke City Council

Industry

Ken Hobden - Minerals Products Association (MPA)
Andrew Bromley - MPA
Malcolm Lawer - MPA (Tarmac).
Colin D'Oyley - MPA (Ennstone Johnston)
Tony Rowley - MPA (Cemex)
Dave Coleman - National Federation of Demoloition Contractors (NFDC)
Mick Daynes - MPA / (Hanson UK)
Tim Deal - MPA/ Lafarge
P. Huxtable - MPA / (British Aggregates)
Ross Halley - MPA / (Lafarge)
Andy Ambrose - MPA / (ALP Ambrose)
N McLean - NFDC (Armac D.E.L).

Government Organisations

David Howatson - DEFRA
Mark Plummer - CLG
Jim Davies - Environment Agency
Ray Colbourne - GOWM
Chris Blakeley - WMRA

For further information please contact David Clarke on 0121 678 1023 or email d.clarke@wmra.gov.uk.