Bills Bills Bills - £90m Hit for Quarriers this Financial
Year
As we approach the new financial year, QPA has been totting up
the bill for what is set to be the most expensive year yet for
the quarrying industry. Against a background of high energy and
haulage costs, as well as the well-documented 22% rise in the
aggregates levy that comes into force on Tuesday, the quarrying
industry has an ever growing list of costs to cover before it
can provide the essential materials Britain needs. These costs
are further supplemented by the increasing admin burden that goes
hand in hand with mounting regulation.
Some of the industry's hurdles include:
- £75m more to pay on the Aggregates Levy, with another
£10m on top in 09.
- At least £4m as fuel duty rises later in the year.
- The ending of fuel duty derogation for waste derived fuels,
commonly employed in asphalt operations, will bring a bill in
excess of £10m.
- The cap on planning fees has risen by some 33% to £65,000
for each proposal.
- The in-development Community Infrastructure Levy poses the
threat of quarries unfairly facing the high charges designed
to target housing developers. QPA believes that contributions
to local infrastructure are already suitably covered by Section
106 agreements.
- The Climate Change Levy, which affects many QPA members, continues
to increase through index linking.
- The introduction of both water abstraction licenses and new
waste permitting requirements will add cost and bureaucracy
for many quarry operations.
- Larger operators caught within the scope of the forthcoming
carbon reduction commitment (CRC) will be faced with the increasing
administration and management costs associated with this highly
complex system.
Simon van der Byl, QPA's Director General, said "costs are
rising at every turn and generally at inflation-busting levels.
We've already identified an extra £90m going to the Treasury
from headline increases alone for the new financial year. This
will have the clear knock on effect of increasing costs for our
construction clients, with 40% of that client base being the Government
itself!
But this is not just about cost, with the ever growing burden
of administration that goes hand-in-hand with new regulation,
there are more barriers than ever to the business."
ENDS
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