2.1 The Central & Eastern Berkshire Authorities have a combined population of around 600,000, split relatively evenly between the four authorities. Spatially the degree of urbanisation increases from west to east, with the main centres of population and commercial activity located around the centres of Reading, Bracknell and Maidenhead.
2.2 With regards to individual authorities, Reading has a significantly greater population density than the other areas at around 4,000 people per square kilometre. The population pyramid for each of the authorities’ mirrors that of the UK as a whole, with the most significant difference in Reading where the increase in the 20 years bracket reflects the prominence of educational facilities, specifically Reading University and the retention of young professionals within the borough.
2.3 Superimposed on this dense pattern of land use is the significant area of London’s Metropolitan Green Belt which covers areas of the Bracknell Forest, Wokingham and Windsor and Maidenhead Council areas. Within this area of Green Belt, new development is tightly controlled in order to prevent the outward sprawl of London.
2.4 The Green Belt designation imposes significant constraints in the eastern part of the Plan area, where there is the highest demand for waste management facilities to deal with waste arisings from the main centres of population and economic activity.
2.5 Minerals are an important element both in the national economy and that of the Plan area. Their exploitation can make a significant contribution to economic prosperity and quality of life. The maintenance of a buoyant economy, the improvement and development of infrastructure and maintenance of the building stock all require an adequate supply of construction minerals known as aggregates.
2.6 Minerals development is a key part of the wider economy. The location and type of minerals development can lead to local economic benefits, through the supply of a local resource to development projects and the provision of local employment.
2.7 Mineral production is influenced by economic factors, in terms of operators wishing to extract based upon the market demand for these mineral resources. The demand for mineral resources will be determined by the action of the market and macro-economic forces that are beyond the remit of the minerals planning authority to influence.
2.8 The performance of the economy is constantly changing, and the activities of the minerals industry could give rise to temporary and reversible effects (in that shortages of local supply could have implications for the timing and cost of physical development but would be unlikely to prevent it from going ahead altogether).
2.9 The aggregates industry is important to the Plan area’s economy because of its role alongside the construction sector in enabling the physical development including major infrastructure projects that are vital for economic growth and development. Central and Eastern Berkshire as well as surrounding areas are subject to major growth pressures which will need to be supported by the aggregates industry, but this will also need to be balanced with protecting the quality of the local environment and communities.
2.10 The mineral of more than local significance in Central and Eastern Berkshire is gravel and sharp sand. National Planning Practice Guidance25 outlines how aggregate supply should be managed nationally through the Managed Aggregate Supply System (MASS) which seeks to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregate whilst taking into account the geographical imbalances in terms of both need and the geological occurrence of appropriate resources. MASS requires mineral planning authorities to make an appropriate contribution nationally as well as locally whilst controlling environmental damage to an acceptable level.
2.11 Owing to the obligations under the NPPF and more specifically MASS, there is a requirement for the Central & Eastern Berkshire Authorities to enable provision of this mineral as best they can.
2.12 If left unmanaged waste can have a number of environmental, amenity and health impacts that are undesirable. Waste is comprised of considerable resources, which will have been used when producing the original object. With appropriate technologies, many of these resources can be retrieved and used again, thereby reducing the need for raw materials. As such, an array of legislation exists to control how waste is managed and national policy seeks to improve the sustainability of waste management.
2.13 There are a variety of waste management facilities and technologies. Each has different locational requirements and range of potential impacts. The planning regime can help to identify suitable sites for waste management but also manage these impacts. Therefore, the Joint Minerals & Waste Plan should not only determine the amount and type of waste management facilities whilst driving waste up the ‘waste hierarchy’, but also enable waste development in appropriate locations.
25 Planning Practice Guidance (Paragraph: 060 Reference ID: 27-060-20140306) - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/minerals
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