Scottish Aggregates Survey 2012

The Scottish Aggregate Survey

5. The last update of the Scottish Aggregates Survey was completed in 2005. A copy of the Survey form for 2012, which was prepared in consultation with the Mineral Products Association (Scotland) and the British Aggregates Association, is included at Annex A. New geographical areas for collating returns have been put in place. These areas aim to support strategic development planning policy while recognising the difficulties of defining market areas in a country like Scotland with considerable variation in population density and geology. The intention is to provide the volume statistics necessary to inform the planning process without breaching commercial confidentiality.

7. The Survey gathers together information on the production, distribution and reserves of material produced and available from Scottish quarries as at 2012. The information gathered on production echoes that provided separately to the Office of National Statistics ( ONS) for its Mineral Extraction in Great Britain (Business Monitor PA1007) ^[2] although 2013 UK data has now also been published. Whilst the Survey is designed to be factual, it is recognised that on reserves and distribution the figures are best available estimates as there can be no absolute precision in these fields.