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National Planning Policy Guideline NPPG
4: LAND FOR MINERAL WORKING
policy guidelines: general principles
Sustainable Development and the Need for
Mineral Working
6. The Environment White Paper stated that sustainable
development "means living on the Earth's income rather than
eroding its capital. It means keeping the consumption of
renewable natural resources within the limit of their
replenishment. It means handing down to successive
generations not only man-made wealth such as buildings,
roads and railways, but also natural wealth..." In addition
it requires a commitment to minimising the depletion of
non-renewable resources. This is developed further in the
Government's "Sustainable Development Strategy".
Therefore:
- The Government supports the principle of
sustainable development and is making it an
integral part of its domestic and international
policies.
7. In the context of sustainable development, the
process of mineral extraction poses particular
difficulties. It is an activity which can never be
reversed. Sustainability therefore becomes an issue of
whether the man-made wealth created from minerals, both for
present and future generations, justifies the consumption
of these finite natural resources and the environmental
disruption involved. Clearly mineral developments will be
more sustainable if proper consideration is given to need
and alternative sources and every effort is made, both
during and after extraction, to minimise the adverse
effects on the overall quality of the environment in the
longer term. A sustainable framework for mineral extraction
is set out in the "Sustainable Development Strategy" :
-
- To conserve minerals as far as possible,
while ensuring an adequate supply to meet the needs
of society for minerals.
- To minimise production of waste and to
encourage efficient use of materials, including
appropriate use of high quality materials and
recycling of wastes.
- To encourage sensitive working practices
during minerals extraction and to preserve or
enhance the overall quality of the environment once
extraction has ceased.
- To protect designated areas of critical
landscape or nature quality from development, other
than in exceptional circumstances where it has been
demonstrated that development is in the public
interest.
8. The Environment White Paper indicated that enough
land must be found to provide for all our needs - homes,
jobs, shops, food, transport, fuel, building materials and
recreation. The level of minerals production is a
consequence of customer demand in response to these needs
and is therefore essentially a matter for market forces.
Successive governments have recognised that there should be
an adequate and steady supply of minerals available to
respond to demand. The determination of the best means of
meeting the demands of the market is not an objective of
the planning system: such decisions are best left to the
commercial judgement of the minerals industry. Planning
decisions should be based on the planning merits of
particular proposals in the context of the policies and
proposals in the development plan.
9. Reliance on primary minerals to satisfy this demand
is subject to re-evaluation as increased use of secondary
sources (recycled materials currently disposed of as waste)
evolves. However, the contribution from primary minerals
will predominate for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless,
in accordance with the principles of sustainable
development, the Government wishes to reduce the rate of
consumption of these finite primary mineral resources by
encouraging the use of recycled alternatives , whenever
this is practical and economically viable. For example, it
may be possible, in some cases, to reduce the demand for
construction aggregates by using suitable waste materials
as a substitute.
10. Current Government sponsored research
4 is investigating the problems and opportunities
associated with the greater use of recycled materials as
alternatives to primary aggregates for construction,
including the problem of overspecification. The Government
looks to the construction industry to recognise the
desirability of using recycled material and institute
measures voluntarily to reduce the demand for primary
aggregate production. It also proposes to establish a
baseline against which increased use of recycled materials
can be measured. This will enable a review to be undertaken
in due course to assess the contribution from recycled
materials. However, such changes in the pattern of
aggregate use cannot be brought about either quickly or by
means of the planning system alone.
11. The planning system has a key role to play in
establishing a framework within which the often competing
needs of the economy and the environment can be met. In
particular, development plans should aim to safeguard the
quality of the natural and built heritage while guiding
developers and mineral operators to locations where mineral
extraction or recycling is likely to be permitted, subject
to current environmental and amenity standards being met.
They should set out clearly the policies against which such
proposals will be assessed.
12. When developing their framework for mineral working,
planning authorities should seek through their policies and
decisions:
- to provide positively for the working of
mineral resources to meet society's needs through
the identification of preferred areas for mineral
extraction;
- to safeguard deposits of minerals from
permanent development that would prevent or hinder
their subsequent extraction;
- to protect areas of importance to natural
and built heritage from inappropriate mineral
development;
- to achieve improved operating standards and
sensitive working practices during the extraction
period, in order to reduce the impact of mineral
extraction;
- to achieve a high standard of restoration
and aftercare, and provide for beneficial
after-uses when mineral working has
ceased;
- to facilitate the recycling and re-use of
material in waste tips and construction wastes
where this is environmentally acceptable.
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