Getting the - British Aggregates Association

Getting the
message across
Richard Blrd
ls ii my imoginotion or is our industry oi lost being recognised for whot ii is, on
essentiol provider o{ rsw moierioh {or ihe noiion's infro$ruclure? Moybe it is the
forthcoming London 0lympics thof hos helped to roise our indu$ryt profile;
somebody musi hove reolised ihot you connot build stodiums ond othlete's villogel
wifhout oggregotes.
Un{ortunotely, oggregotes do not olwoys oppeor lust where you wqnt lhem ond so
fhey hove io be fonsported in from ofor, porticulorly when it comes to supplies in the
London oreo. Aporf{rom o {ew sond ond grovel quonies (ond ihey ore becoming
rore), most noturol oggregotes used in London ore seo dredged, roiled in {rom
Leicester ond the Mendips, or shipped in from the wesi coosl o{ Scoilond.
The locol recycled oggregote industry will, of course, ploy o moior port ln providing
moteriols for the 0lympics, ond London ond the South Eost is the leoding oreo in the
country for the produdion o{ reqcled oggregoies. Neveriheless, ihe demond for
quontiiies of oggregote required for the london Olympics should be felt in mony rurol
quonies throughout the lond. Thot is good for rurol industry ond good for rurol iobs.
We in the oggregote indusfi need to use fiis Olympic opporfunity to blow our
trumpet ond counler some of the negotive publicity thol is so often oimed ol quorries.
Ju$ the oher doy, I octuolly heord somebody {rom o government ogency describe
oggregoles os the bockbone of society. Goshl Do I deieci o seo chonge or wos this
iust o cose o{ pondering to lhe oudience?
Like I soy, moybe ot lost the messoge is getting through. in Edinburgh, ihe Scollish
Govemmeni hos recenily complebd o survey o{ oll
fie
consenled reserves o{
oggregotes throughout Scotlond. The results ore quite $odling. ln mony ports o{
Centrol Scotlond, there ore {ewer fhon ten yeors o{ reserves leit ond this in on oreo
where the
Ml4
ond ihe M80 ore io be extended, ond o new Forlh crossing obout to
be built, notwith$onding the Commonweolth Gomes, which ore coming to Glosgow
in 20,l 4. The Scoftish Government hove reolised thol, if they ore going to loke
Scotlond {orword, then ihey need oggregoies lo develop lhe inirq$ructure. There is
still o long woy to go, but in some oreos, Scotiish quorry operoiors ore beginning to
{eel o betier reloiionship with locol outhorities, porticulorly in oreqs o{ minerqls
plonning. Hopefully, this positive ottilude will spreod to other ouihorities ond
govemment ogencies throughout the lond.
I suppose
we ore siill smorfing over the introduciion o{ the Aggregotes Levy ond ihe
so-colled 'negotive effect' o{ quorrying put out to iustify ils introduction. [ven now,
the Treosury continues to $ote thol the levy is ochieving ih oims, despite the {oct lirot
the lonnoge of virgin oggregotes produced hos $eodily increosed since the levyt
inhoduction. Added to $ot, we never were given exomples of lhe 'negotive ef{ect'.
When one looks ot how Defro, the Depodment for Environment Food ond Rurol A{foirs,
keeps creoming ofi the Aggregotes Levy Susfoinobility Fund for other purposes, one
mu$ conclude thst there could noi hove been too mony negotives in the fir$ plocel
Let us move owoy {rom }he negotives ond look to the
brigh
number o{ telephone colls we get from city onoly$s eoger
b
side. Judging by the
find out whot our indu$ry
Quorries need lo be pul more in fhe spotlighf to help foster
public undersfonding of fheir role
is up to, there ore some out fhere who mu$ like ihe quorrymon. They ore, o{ course,
refening 1o ihe iokeovers of the moior British oggregoie componies by multinolionol
cemeni componies ond lhe moves into the USA oggregotes business by o number o{
British quorry operoion. I like io think thot the recent moves by muliinofionols hos, iu$
like the 0lympic Gomes, pui us o bit more in the public spoilight. Everyone likes o
winner ond we need to ioke this oppodunity to be positive ond moke il cleor to the
mon in the $reet thot quorries ore noi lust hoies in the ground producing oggregotes
{or concrete or rood works. Mony of these quonies go on lo be lhorpe Porks, Eden
Projecis ond RSPB noture reserves. We need to exploin more to Deko ministers ihot
recovered quonies reolly ore green ond the industry should be encouroged to turn
ihem into community ossets rofher thon bury them in complex wo$e legisloiion, os
is
cunenily the cose.
Meonwhile whilst oll this 'politicking' is going on, the rurol quorry operotor is doing
whot he hos oiwoys done, keeping rurol indu$ry olive ond providing the oggregote
producis to sustoin the rest o{ socreiy. Moybe we will gei the messoge ocross one doy,
bui then life might gei too eosy, ond I did soy oi the beginning thot this new {eeling
could be jusi in my imcginotion,
jr.:.
:i
?"***-l'.
,
pits hove become o woterski foke for bools ond o loke
hosting o coble low Photogroph: www.boxendpork.com