The Cullimore Group: Aggregates need to have key role in fixing Britain’s housing crisis

The 8628 Cullimore Group, one of the UK’s most prominent and well-established aggregate providers, is calling for greater Government support for the aggregates industry, if it’s to help them build the 300,000 new homes a year pledged by chancellor Philip Hammond in his Autumn budget speech. The move comes amid growing industry concern about a perceived huge reality gap existing between what the British Government is promising and what’s actually happening on the ground.

Based in Whitminster, Gloucestershire, England, the Cullimore Group is questioning the Government’s commitment to solving the housing issue, given its apparent complacency about the availability of aggregate volumes and current planning processes. It’s a point being echoed by the 887 British Aggregates Association (BAA), following its scrutiny of the Government’s “Housing White Paper”, released for consultation earlier this year, and in particular its alarm at what it says was the complete absence of any reference to the critical contribution of aggregates supply in meeting any Government plans to boost housing stocks.

Aggregates and minerals are vital in the supply of material for both building materials and the groundworks necessary for housing developments. Such apathy worries Cullimore Group’s managing director, Moreton Cullimore, which he believes is widespread throughout not just central government, but also local authorities. Cullimore said: “There seems to be a high degree of complacency about what’s potentially and actually available for extraction. Just because mineral deposits are located within a council’s designated area of preferred search it doesn’t mean they will ever be released or realised. Councils need to get away from thinking, it’s ok we’ll always have another site available to extract aggregates when we need them, as that time may never come.”

Worse still, the Cullimore Group says there are many other pressures compounding the availability and ability to extract aggregates and minerals from the ground. One of these issues is the mineral land banks held by landowners. Some county councils, such as Worcestershire CC, are trying to do more to target landowners and boost material supplies for the construction industry including sand, gravel, clay and hard rock. But unless they have strong enough incentives to sell, most landowners, argues the Cullimore Group, will prefer to keep their minerals locked under the ground.

Current planning rules are complicated, which is why many builders are sitting on banks of land with permission to develop, but are not doing so. And Philip Hammond’s overdue request in asking Sir Oliver Letwin MP to head up an enquiry to sort this out, is all, says the Cullimore Group, a bit little, too late. But even if the regulations are eased for those wanting to build, no similar assurances have, says the Group, been offered for the aggregates industry.

Presently, landowners that do choose to sell typically face a raft of planning checks, including archaeological, arboricultural, wildlife and hydrological surveys requiring completion, that need to be carried out before permission to extract minerals can be granted. In contrast to the Government’s much publicised 18-month time frame, this can actually take up to five years, with four years planning and a further 12 months dealing with pre-commencement conditions set by the council before any ground preparation can commence.

According to the 2897 Mineral Products Association (MPA) a ‘Cutting Red Tape’ review of mineral extraction was implemented by the Government in 2015, but this stalled despite early progress with Government, industry and regulators. Consequently, issues around planning permission and what the Cullimore Group says is the often-disproportionate bias towards pressure groups such as the ‘Green Alliance’ and the ‘Campaign to Protect Rural England’, all too frequently conspire to thwart a rapid planning process.

Peter Huxtable, secretary of the 887 British Aggregates Association, is keen to emphasise this point: “The Government should take greater care when affording special protection to sites. Reviewing their latest Housing White Paper, we were concerned to see ‘Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS)’ given the same level of protection as ‘Ancient Woodlands’. This is despite many of those plantations containing only commercial coniferous woodlands encouraged by Government policy in the 1950s. It’s unnecessary red tape such as this, which is so damaging to the availability and supply of aggregates.” Both the Cullimore Group and the BAA believe that the Government and local councils could be doing so much more to reduce these pressures.

Moreton Cullimore continued: “There needs to be a reality check and a greater sense of urgency about what’s happening at ground level. By increasing incentives for landowners and shortening the planning time-frames involved, Government can help boost the volume of aggregates available for the construction industry and therefore speed up the building of new homes.”

Whilst Brexit is currently one of UK’s major preoccupations right now, Moreton thinks it could potentially bring benefits to the aggregates industry in terms of mineral availability. If following Brexit the UK decides to leave the Common Agricultural Policy, Moreton believes there could potentially be more land available for development.

“Currently there’s a huge disparity between what the Government is communicating about housing and the reality of what we’re seeing with natural resources. Brexit could be a very good opportunity for the aggregates industry, but only if we first solve the other issues holding it back.

We want to help the Government, but they first need to do more to support our industry. This is no time for complacency. They must act now, if they are to meet Philip Hammond’s ambitious target for fixing the housing shortage.”