Sand shortage 'could affect home building plans'

Plans to build new homes in Lancashire could be suffering - due to a shortage of raw materials such as sand and gravel, it has emerged.

Applications for new quarries or extensions to existing sites could be needed to address the issue, a draft planning document says.

Expected demand for the materials up until 2042 is 11.56 million tonnes - compared with 5.17 million tonnes of permitted reserves - leaving a projected shortfall of 6.39 million tonnes.

The draft Joint Lancashire Minerals and Waste Local Plan describes a "significant unmet need for sand and gravel now and throughout the plan period", but does not allocate any new extraction sites.

Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council say planning applications would therefore need to come forward during the plan period if the shortfall is to be met.

Sand and gravel are used in concrete, house building, roads and other infrastructure.

The plan, last updated in 2009, is drawn up by the three councils and, identifies potential resources including about three million tonnes at Lower Hall Farm near Preston, and about 500,000 tonnes off Bourbles Lane, Preesall.

Neither site is formally allocated for extraction.

The Mineral Products Association, which represents the industry, said earlier this month that across Great Britain only 49 tonnes of new sand and gravel reserves had been permitted for every 100 tonnes extracted over the past decade.

The draft plan is currently out for consultation until 1 November.

The councils will then decide whether it should be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.