Residents are being reminded that they have until 11th July to take part in the latest round of public consultation on the future of sand and gravel provision in the county.

The publication of the Minerals Local Plan Preferred Approach is the latest step in a 20-year blueprint for quarrying in the county and residents have already given their views in the main part of the consultation which took place between October and December last year.

It is as a result of issues raised in that consultation that the latest one is taking place – focusing solely on the sand and gravel element of the document which includes 12 extensions to existing extraction sites and five new site allocations, the majority of which were included in the 2013 Preferred Approach document.

Preparation of the new Minerals Local Plan began in 2011 and there was an informal public consultation in 2012 on the issues and options, with over 1,200 comments received from a total of 196 organisations and individuals.

These included statutory bodies, local district and borough councils, the minerals industry, interest groups and members of the public. These comments were used in the preparation of the Preferred Approach which was consulted upon last winter.

Nottinghamshire has considerable mineral resources and is a regionally and nationally important producer of sand and gravel.

An updated Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan will look ahead to 2030 and set out the policy against which proposals for minerals development will be assessed.

Comments from the consultation will be used to shape the final phase of consultation for the Submission Draft Consultation document which will be subject to a further round of consultation before submission to a Planning Inspector for a formal review at an inquiry later this year.