Details of the Review

Find out what the review is and what has been done so far

The current Essex Minerals Local Plan (MLP) was adopted in July 2014. The Plan:

  • provides planning policies for minerals development in Essex until 2029
  • identifies future sites for mineral extraction.

Alongside other Local Plans, the MLP forms part of the Development Plan for Essex.

Every five years the council is required to review the effectiveness of its MLP. Proposed amendments to the MLP 2014 were consulted on in March/April 2021. Reviews are required to ensure that each policy and associated supporting text in the MLP is still fit for purpose. This means that the Plan continues to be robust and can help maintain a ‘steady and adequate’ supply of aggregates.

Watch these three video presentations to learn more about the Minerals Local Plan and the review process:

Current review progress

The review has already been through four stages:

  • a consultation (under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended) in March/April 2021
  • a ‘Call for Sites’ exercise in February/March 2022
  • a second 'Call for Sites' exercise in September 2022
  • an informal engagement on Policy S6 of the Minerals Local Plan in February/ March 2022.

The results of these stages mean that we now have:

  • 52 new candidate sites for consideration for inclusion in a new Plan
  • a new draft plan
  • an extension of the Plan period to 2040

There are two main parts of this consultation you can comment on. They are the:

Extending the Plan end date to 2040

Extending the Plan to 2040 means that we will have a new plan covering a 15-year period from 2025. This enables us to meet the relevant ‘tests of soundness’ as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  As part of this update, new mineral annual provision rates have been calculated. New sites will also be needed to meet the forecasted demand for minerals. The plan ensures that we can support the forecasted growth and development demands in Essex.