Report of the Office of Fair Trading Market Study into UK Aggregates Sector

Date: 30/9/2011

Views of the Planning Officers Society - Minerals and Waste Forum

The Minerals and Waste Forum made a lengthy submission to OFT on its aggregates market study on 28 October 2010 covering a number of specific areas. The Forum has read the Market Study report issued in August 2011 and in particular the references to the planning system especially Chapter 6 and would like to comment on it. Our main concerns about the report are:

• It lacks clear empirical evidence to back up its findings on the planning system seeming to be based more on anecdotal comments made by a few individual companies.
• There seems to be a misunderstanding of how the planning system operates, particularly the role of MASS and the operation of the landbank policy.
• There seems to be a misunderstanding on the role and operation of the AWPs and the importance of sharing aggregate data and information.

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