Aggregates, potash and other minerals

25 May 2023

Official announcements about projects or comments we may make on topics of discussion within the aggregates, potash and minerals industries, can be found here.   

Notification of Proposal to Tender Marine Aggregates Rights - 2024/25 - 23 January 2023

The Crown Estate aims to sustainably manage the seabed for its many users, and to unlock its potential to support the creation of lasting and shared prosperity for the nation. The pace and scale of development of the UK seabed has grown very significantly in recent years, to support a range of activities that are of increasing importance to our nation. This trend is expected to continue to escalate for the foreseeable future. To support this acceleration, The Crown Estate will operate to maximise the broad value that can be derived from a whole of seabed management approach. This encapsulates value creation that is economic, environmental, and societal and seeks to work across the many marine sectors that The Crown Estate serves. As part of this approach, we remain committed to providing the marine aggregates industry with opportunities to develop and maintain a sustainable and durable long-term pipeline of resources to support the crucial role that it plays in the development and maintenance of our built environment and in enabling climate change resilience. We also appreciate the need to provide transparency to our customers and stakeholders at an early stage in any proposal for future leasing activity. To that end, we can confirm that we are commencing the concept phase for a future aggregates tender, with a draft target for delivery in 2024/25. There are a number of external dependencies/consultation requirements that are relevant to this ambition, which will be worked through as we take forward the planning stage of the proposal. In the short term, during 2023 we will be engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, working to define how the tender will be framed, and shaping the spatial extent of the seabed to be included. Should any variation to the target timeline identified above be necessary we will work to communicate this as soon as we are able, and further information regarding the tender process will be made available throughout. 

Update on the 2021 Marine Aggregate Extraction Tender Round

Following successful engagement with the sector, we commenced a tender round during 2021/22. This process offered applicants the opportunity to seek rights for the exploration of aggregates (sand and gravel) lying on or under the seabed in regions of The Crown Estate mineral ownership, and to obtain an option for a “Production Agreement” to extract marine aggregates. The Invitation to Tender stage (ITT) concluded in early 2022. Following tender evaluation and assessment, and subject to the requirements of a plan-level Habitats Regulations Assessment, rights could be awarded in the summer of 2023. Successful applicants would then be required to obtain all relevant statutory consents prior to the commencement of activities.If you require further information in relation to the 2021 Marine Aggregate Extraction Tender Round or if you have any queries in relation to The Crown Estate’s marine aggregate activities please contact MarineMinerals@thecrownestate.co.uk.