Shaping rural mineral policy: insights from the CLA’s Mineral Working Party

The CLA’s Mineral Working Party is an important group that helps inform our policy stance on quarrying, mining and the broader impact of mineral extraction in rural areas. The group also helps assess the likely impact of government announcements, with an eye on legal considerations, the wider economy and the environment.

In a recent meeting in Bedfordshire, many members of the committee were able to get together and discuss a number of important government proposals. These included the reform to Landfill Tax consultation, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the Spending Review.

The CLA is responding to the reform to Landfill Tax consultation which seeks to remove a number of important exemptions and transition to a single rate structure away from a two-tier system. These proposals could give rise to a dramatic increase in the tax rate. The issues we raised focus on:

• The increased costs that will make certain businesses, mineral projects and environmental restoration work unviable. This will directly impact the strategically critical minerals industry, an industry that is vital if the government wishes to deliver its growth, housing, infrastructure and net zero plans
• The inability to restore sites which will lead to non-compliance with planning conditions and existing contracts. Such as returning quarries to environmental or agricultural land
• The significant risk that the proposed increases in Landfill Tax will lead to more industrial scale fly-tipping. Something that the CLA is alive to and continues to ask government for improved enforcement
• The lack of enforcement and regulatory resources in the sector is a critical weakness. If improved resources were provided, it would help meet government objectives, address the current issues and negate the need for the dramatic changes that are being proposed
• The need for decision makers to work with the industry and improve collaboration within government

The CLA and committee members have collaborated with other stakeholders in the industry to highlight to government the true costs of its proposal.

In addition to this valuable meeting and discussion between members of the CLA Minerals Working Party, the group also visited Grove Quarry in Leighton Buzzard. The party was given an introduction to the site’s history and future plans related to the phased development of the quarry. Including how the site will be restored to deliver environmental gains and public access. A high-quality silica sand seam runs across the property, currently being extracted from the bottom of the lake.

Next, the group visited the sand extraction area. It was fascinating for them to see the dredging machine on the lake, efficiently excavating and transferring the sand slurry via a pipe to the processing yard. The set-up, which included a digger on a raft along the edge of the lake, brings sand down the bank into the reach of the dredger.

In addition to learning about the use of the sand (for plasterboard, construction and sports pitches), the tour also informed the committee about steps that are being taken to make the site as resilient as possible to local development pressures and climate change. This also included stories, which will be familiar to other similar UK sites, on problems with trespassers and pollution coming from the nearby town.

Overall, it was an enlightening visit for the party and offered the opportunity to see the real-world challenges facing mineral extraction sites.