MPA voices concerns over UK government housebuilding plans

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has written to the UK government voicing concerns over the government’s recent announcements regarding housebuilding. Two differing policy proposals designed to boost housebuilding, put forward by the current government and the Labour opposition, support plans to deliver new homes but, according to the MPA, fail to recognise the importance of the construction supply chains in realising their housing ambitions.

Robert McIlveen, director of public affairs at the MPA, has written to Matthew Pennycook MP, the shadow planning minister, to stress the key issues faced by producers of mineral products such as aggregates, concrete and asphalt. Mr McIlveen points out that materials products literally form the foundations for all new building work.

“Infrastructure, housing, and the new workplaces, schools and hospitals your plan implies will be delivered, all rely on mineral products for construction, including concrete – and its ingredients aggregates and cement – mortar, stone, and asphalt for roads, pavements and cycle paths. This supply chain is often taken for granted, despite being the largest material flow in the economy, and faces a longstanding challenge in replenishment rates for permitted reserves, particularly for sand and gravel. Since 2010 there has been much less strategic planning which has led to this situation,” stated Mr McIlveen.

He went on to highlight the findings of two recent MPA publications. Firstly, the Annual Mineral Planning Survey, the most recent of which found that for every 100t of sand and gravel extracted, only 63t are permitted for future extraction, and the recent paper setting out scenarios to 2035 for aggregates demand, which shows a significant increase in the need for aggregates and the options to meet that need.