This month’s ‘fun fact’ – or at least, the fact that leapt off the page when I first saw it – is that “aggregates represent the largest material flow” in our economy and are “the only bulk material to be sourced almost entirely domestically”.
Under normal circumstances that would be heartening news – even a source of national pride: “Look, Britain, you’re still self-sufficient in something!”
But there’s also something characteristically British in the corresponding fact that (as we report on page 7 of this issue) we have neglected to ensure the planning consents needed to exploit these abundant resources.
As a result, the supply of sand, gravel, stone, cement, concrete, asphalt – in other words, most of the basic materials necessary for construction – is at risk of running short.
About 30 years ago Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor Tony Blair coined the phrase “joined-up government” to illustrate the need for government departments to coordinate their efforts in order to address complex policy issues.
Any lessons learned back then appear to have been forgotten by the present administration.
Starmer and his deputy Angel Rayner are doubling-down on their promise to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2030, relaxing planning laws and declaring war on the bats and newts.
But they seem to have failed to notice that the volume of permitted aggregate reserves has almost halved in the past 20 years.
You can’t build houses out of promises alone, Keir.