Minerals Planning

There are two Local Plans relating to Minerals Planning:  The Minerals Strategy (adopted in 2014) and the Mineral Sites Plan (adopted in 2019).

Archive material relating to the preparation of the Mineral Sites Plan

The Mineral Sites Plan was adopted by the Councils following the public examination as detailed below.

Proposed adoption of the Plan

The Mineral Sites Plan is programmed to be considered for adoption by Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council in the Autumn of 2019. The formal adoption date will begin two weeks from the date at which both Dorset Council and BCP Council have adopted the Plan. The main modifications recommended by the Inspector will then be incorporated into the final Mineral Sites Plan and published on our website. Until then, please refer to the Presubmission Draft documents as above, together with the Schedule of Main Modifications.

Inspector's report on the Mineral Sites Plan (July 2019)

The Mineral Sites Plan was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 29 March 2018 for examination, and public hearings took place in September-October 2018, and February 2019.

The Inspector appointed to examine the Mineral Sites Plan has now found that the Plan provides an appropriate basis for mineral planning in the Plan area, provided that a number of main modifications are made to it.

The Inspector's findings are set out in the Inspector's report. The Inspector has also set out the main modifications that should be made to the Mineral Sites Plan. These should be read alongside the PreSubmission Draft MSP pages 1-87; PreSubmission Draft MSP pages 88 - 98; PreSubmission Draft MSP pages 99 - 108; PreSubmission Draft MSP 109 - 171; PreSubmission Draft MSP pages 172 - 206 

Consultation on modifications to the Mineral Sites Plan 

The Plan was examined by Inspector Elizabeth Ord LLB (Hons) MA DipTUS, with hearing sessions taking place in September-October 2018. A further hearing session was held on 14 February 2019.

As a result of the examination process, a number of modifications are proposed to the Pre-Submission Draft Mineral Sites Plan that was submitted. There are both main modifications, which the Inspector considers necessary in order for the Plan to be found 'sound' (written in red and underlined), and additional modifications, which are other changes to improve the Plan (written in red and italics). You can comment on the proposed modifications by using a response form.

As well as being set out in the online version of the plan, the modifications can be viewed in the schedules of modifications.

The following documents can be viewed:

Consultation on modifications
Reference Document title Date
MSDCC83-c Schedule of main modifications May 2019
MSDCC84-b Schedule of additional modifications

May 2019
MSPSD17

Modified version of the Mineral Sites Plan (Chapters 1-6)

Modified version of the Mineral Sites Plan (Submission Policies Map and Inset Maps p83-97)

Modified version of the Mineral Sites Plan (Submission Policies Map and Inset Maps p98-112)

Modified version of the Mineral Sites Plan (Appendix A - Site Allocations)

Modified version of the Mineral Sites Plan (Appendix B, Replaced Policies and Glossary)

 May 2019
MSPSD18

Sustainability Appraisal of proposed modifications (p1-288)

Sustainability Appraisal of proposed modifications (p289-583)

 May 2019
MSPSD19a Habitats Regulations Assessment of proposed modifications May 2019
MSPSD19b Habitats Regulations Assessment Appendix 1 May 2019
MSDCC85 Screening of proposed sites for cumulative impacts  May 2019

Updates 13 & 16 May 2019: Note that the Schedules of Modifications have been updated. Changes relate to Chapter 5 ‘Safeguarding’ only. Modification AM18.2 has been removed from the schedule of additional modifications and instead included as MM22.1 in the schedule of main modifications. Reference to figure 21 has also been added to MM83. The updated schedules are numbered MSDCC - 83c and MSDCC - 84b. 

Hard copies of the documents can also be viewed at County Hall, Dorchester; the Civic Centre, Poole; the Customer Services Centre, Bournemouth; and the Civic Offices, Christchurch.

When commenting, please state the modification number. Note that only comments relating to a proposed modification will be accepted. 

Responses must be received by 5pm on Thursday 20 June 2019. 

Responses can be emailed to mwdf@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk, or posted to County Hall (see below). For further information contact the minerals and waste planning policy team on 01305 224675.

Data Protection

The information you provide will be used by Dorset Council for the purpose of preparing the minerals and waste local plans. It will only be retained for as long as required for that purpose.

Note that representations, including respondent details, will be forwarded to the Planning Inspector who has been appointed by the Secretary of State to examine the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset Mineral Sites Plan. Please be aware that all representations will be made available for public inspection, including on the council’s website.

By commenting, you are consenting to its use as detailed and you are agreeing for your details to be added to our database. Further information about the use of personal information is available on our website or by contacting the Council’s Data Protection Officer by email at data.protection@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or by post at RMU, County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ.

Next steps with the Mineral Sites Plan

Following consultation on the modifications to the Plan, the responses on main modifications will be considered by the Inspector. The Inspector will then prepare her final report on the Plan. 

The councils hope to then adopt the Mineral Sites Plan in autumn 2019. 

Examination of the Mineral Sites Plan

Further information on the hearing sessions that took place in September/October 2018 and February 2019 and the full examination library are available to view.

Draft Mineral Sites Plan Update - 2017

The Draft Mineral Sites Plan did not go to consultation in Spring 2017 with the Waste Plan. During this time, work continued on selecting the sites for inclusion in the Plan as 'allocated sites'.

County Council elections held in May 2017 resulted in a change to the timetable for publication of the Mineral Sites Plan and the Waste Plan. A report on the timetable is available.

Officers reviewed comments received to both the 2015 and the 2016 consultations, and have identified specific issues raised for the site proposals. Responses to these issues and comments, and the relevant documents can be downloaded:

Previous consultations

​Comments made to the plan at various stages of consultation between 2013 to 2016 are still available to view below.

Draft Mineral Sites Plan Update - 2016 consultation

Consultation on the emerging Draft Mineral Sites Plan Update 2016 took place between 26 May and 21 July 2016. Various documents are associated with this consultation and are available to download below.

Revised Site Appraisals 2016

A number of site appraisals were updated in 2016 from their original issue, to clearly identify the sites nominated for future mineral working.

Background papers

You can view and download the background papers prepared for the 2016 consultation. These documents contain evidence which supports the Plan preparation:

Key issues - 2016 Consultation

The key issues raised during the consultation have been summarised and can be downloaded.

The Draft Mineral Sites Plan was reviewed in light of consultation responses, and the views of the public who responded to the consultation.

A short public consultation on revisions to the plan took place in February 2017.

The Draft Mineral Sites Plan Update 2016 provided additional information to that contained in the 2015 Draft Mineral Sites Plan Part 1 and 2015 Draft Mineral Sites Plan Part 2. Stakeholders may find it helpful to refer to the previous plan alongside the 2016 Update plan.

Draft Mineral Sites Plan - 2015 consultation

The public consultation held during Summer/Autumn 2015 finished on 23 September 2015.

During the consultation period, exhibitions were held across the county to allow people to view the proposals and ask questions regarding the proposed content of the emerging plan.

In response to concerns expressed by some residents, Dorset County Council gave assurances that late representations to the consultation would be considered. Any responses received during this time have been considered and included in the report prepared following the consultation.

The Plan identified 22 sites for quarries. Once adopted, the Mineral Sites Plan will be used when the Mineral Planning Authority considers planning applications for future minerals development. Our leaflet gives an overview of the proposals contained in the draft Mineral Sites Plan.

The Plan is available to download:

Portland Coastal Strip Clarification

It has been noted that in the Draft Mineral Sites Plan 2015, the section referring to Portland requires clarification.

Please note that the list of sites identified at paragraph 4.64 of the Draft Mineral Sites Plan 2015 referred to as 'having the potential to produce Portland Stone' excluded the Coastal Strip and Southwell Quarry in this document.

Part of the Coastal Strip is affected by a Modification Order in respect of the 1951 planning permission for quarrying. The potential quarry operators have claimed that the effect of that order is to sterilise the whole of the stone reserves in the Coastal Strip and Southwell Quarry, and are seeking compensation on that basis. While this is not accepted by Dorset County Council, who consider that the reserves remain workable and viable, for the time being because of the uncertainty as to whether and when they will in fact come forward, it has been thought better to exclude the Coastal Strip and Southwell from the identified list of sites.

In addition, the site known as Stonehills Mine was inadvertently not included on the list of Portland sites at paragraph 4.64. This error will be remedied in the next version of the Mineral Sites Plan, at the Pre-Submission Stage.

Site Appraisals 2015

In 2015, the sites nominated for inclusion in the Mineral Sites Plan were assessed against a number of factors to determine whether they would be suitable sites for mineral extraction. The site appraisals for each of the site options which were shown in the Draft Mineral Sites Plan 2015 can be downloaded by following the links in the list of individual mineral types.

Background papers

You can view and download the background papers prepared for the 2015 consultation. These documents contain evidence which supports the Plan preparation:

Key issues - 2015 Consultation

Two reports were produced which assessed all the comments made to the 2015 Draft Mineral Sites Plan text and policies. An initial officer response was made to explain, where relevant, changes proposed to be made to the Plan to address issues raised. No further consultation on the text and policies contained in the Draft Minerals Sites Plan will take place.

View the officer response report containing a summary of the issues that arose to each site option, and the report on the comments to the text and policies with officer comments. These can be downloaded if required.

Amendments to the emerging plan - 2014

New site nominations during 2014

The 2013-14 consultation on the Mineral Sites Plan closed in February 2014. Subsequently, a further five mineral sites were nominated to the Mineral Planning Authority for consideration for inclusion in the Plan. These five site nominations, as with all others, were subject to detailed sustainability appraisal and other assessments.

The new sites in 2014 were:

  • Crack Lane, Langton Matravers, Purbeck: Purbeck Marble site, approximately 0.5ha. Located at the northern end of Crack Lane (north of Langton Matravers) where it meets the A351. To be worked in summer campaigns, according to demand.
  • Gallows Gore, Harmans Cross, Purbeck: Purbeck Stone site, approximately 5ha. Located approximately 150m north of B3069 and adjacent to Haycrafts Lane, south of and adjacent to previous site nomination Quarr Farm.
  • Hurst Farm, Moreton: Sand and gravel site, approximately 72ha. Located north/west of the B3390, north of Hurst Heath and south of the River Frome.
  • Station Road, Moreton: Sand and gravel site, approximately 58ha. Located south/east of the B3390 and south of Station Road.
  • White's Pit aggregate recycling facility at White's Pit Landfill Site, Arrowsmith Road, Wimborne: Located within Poole Borough Council. Existing aggregates recycling site, previously associated with restoration of the landfill site. Restoration of the landfill is now complete and the site is proposed as a 'stand-alone' aggregates recycling site.

Withdrawn site nominations - 2014

Three sites were withdrawn from inclusion in the Mineral Sites Plan in 2014.

Any site may be withdrawn at any time by the promoter. Additionally, if a site gains planning permission whilst the Mineral Sites Plan is being prepared, it will not need to be considered through the plan.

  • BCO6 - Woolsbarrow was withdrawn by the site promoter (Imerys Minerals Ltd) and will no longer be considered
  • BS01 - Manor Farm Quarry was withdrawn and will no longer be considered
  • BC02 - Dorey's (Bridewell's) has been granted planning permission and so no longer needs to be considered through the Mineral Sites Plan

Consultation on suggested sites - 2013

We undertook a period of public consultation on the Mineral Sites Plan from 19 December 2013 to 13 February 2014. This consultation included all of the sites that have been nominated by mineral companies and landowners for consideration. Our 2013 newsletter included a map showing the locations of all the suggested sites.

Key Issues - 2013 Consultation

Over 1,100 people and organisations responded to the consultation. We have prepared a summary of the issues raised through the consultation, along with our responses. To read these, please click through to the site you're interested in and a pdf will open detailing the key issues for each site.

Correction: In the Mineral Sites Plan, in the section MSP AS23 Gore Heath, within the Site Information table, the site promoters have mistakenly been stated as 'Leigh Environmental Ltd'. This should read 'Veolia Environmental Services'.

Mineral Sites Allocations Document (MSAD) - Discussion Paper - 2008 Consultation

The process for identifying sites for future mineral extraction began in 2008, when we published a Minerals Site Allocations Document (MSAD) Discussion Paper. It identified all the sites that have been suggested (by land owners and mineral operators) to be considered for inclusion in the document as future locations for quarrying.

The purpose of this initial stage of consultation was to gain feedback from a wide cross section of interested parties in the early stages of preparation.

Consultation on the MSAD took place between 17 October and 12 December 2008.

The outcomes of the consultation were reported to the Minerals and Waste Policy Joint Advisory Committee in March 2009.

Following this consultation, work on this document was put on hold in order to progress the Minerals Core Strategy ahead of the sites plan.

Landscape Assessment - 2008

A landscape and visual assessment was undertaken to assess the landscape capacity of a number of the potential sites included in the MSAD Discussion Paper to accommodate mineral development. The methodology used assessed landscape character, landscape character sensitivity and visual sensitivity to determine capacity. The study also included an assessment of potential cumulative impacts of groups of sites from two key viewpoints in Purbeck - Creech Barrow and Whiteway Viewpoint.

MINERALS STRATEGY - ADOPTED 2014

 The Minerals Strategy was adopted following an examination into its soundness. See the  Inspector's Report and the Sustainability Appraisal Report is also available to view. 

MINERALS AND WASTE LOCAL PLAN 1999 - now superceded

There are five remaining policies in the Minerals & Waste Local Plan, adopted in 1999.

Following adoption of the Minerals Strategy, the following policies were the only policies of the Minerals & Waste Local Plan still remaining:

  • Policy 6 - Relating to Applications Outside the Preferred Areas
  • Policy 15 - Preferred Areas for Sand and Gravel
  • Policy 16 - Applications for the winning and working of gravel outside Preferred Areas
  • Policy 30 - Presumption in favour of extraction in Preferred Areas
  • Policy 35 - Presumption in favour of applications within Preferred Areas

Similarly, the waste policies were superseded by the adopted Waste Local Plan (2006). All mineral policies apart from those listed above have been superseded by the adopted Minerals Strategy (2014).

Since adoption of the Mineral Sites Plan in 2019, the above policies are now fully superceded. 


The full Mineral and Waste Local Plan can be seen and downloaded here. Copies can also be purchased for £20 + £5 p&p.