The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has scooped the top environment prize in the UK’s prestigious Planning Awards 2022 held in London last night (9th June 2022).
MPA’s Quarries & Nature – A 50 Year Success Story beat stiff competition to win the ‘Planning for the Natural Environment’ category in the highly respected awards, hosted this year by BBC Climate Change Editor Justin Rowlatt.
Celebrating the vast and unique contribution of restored quarries to UK nature conservation over five decades, Quarries & Nature – A 50 Year Success Story is captured in a documentary film and book, produced with support from the heads of leading conservation bodies including Natural England, RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts.
The Planning Awards, which recognise excellence in planning and placemaking, are judged by an independent panel of eminent planning professionals who acknowledged that the significant contribution made by the industry “demonstrates how nature can thrive once land has been restored”.
Nigel Jackson, MPA Chief Executive, said: “We could not be more delighted that the minerals industry’s collective commitment to restore quarries, support nature recovery and deliver biodiversity gain has been independently recognised in the Planning Awards.
“The quarrying industry has done more than any other sector to support habitat creation and nature recovery, with more than 83 square kilometres of priority habitat already created and a further 110 square kilometres in the pipeline – areas the size of Nottingham and Liverpool respectively. That means the creation of new wetlands, grasslands, heathlands and woodlands that are proven to support the UK’s most vulnerable species.
“I am proud of what our industry achieves, not just providing essential materials that underpin our economy and whole way of life, but also going above and beyond to deliver for nature.”
The MPA – which represents more than 90 per cent of producers of aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, building stone, lime, mortar and silica sand – beat a strong line-up of shortlisted entrties from Barratt David Wilson Homes, Berkeley Homes, Natural History Museum/Deloitte and Rushmoor Borough Council.
For more information on Quarries & Nature – A 50 Year Success Story visit the MPA website mineralproducts.org.
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About the Mineral Products Association:
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, dimension stone, lime, mortar and silica sand industries. With the merger of British Precast, and affiliation of the British Association of Reinforcement (BAR), the British Calcium Carbonate Federation, the Cement Admixtures Assocation (CAA), CONSTRUCT, Eurobitume, MPA Northern Ireland, MPA Scotland and the UK Quality Ash Association (UKQAA), it has a growing membership of 520 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. MPA membership is made up of the vast majority of independent SME quarrying companies throughout the UK, as well as the 9 major international and global companies. It covers 100% of UK cement and lime production, 90% of GB aggregates production, 95% of asphalt and over 70% of ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete production. In 2018, the industry supplied £16 billion worth of materials and services to the Economy. It is also the largest supplier to the construction industry, which had annual output valued at £172 billion in 2018. Industry production represents the largest materials flow in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors.
For media enquiries, contact Elizabeth Clements at: Elizabeth.Clements@mineralproducts.org.