Suitable locations: Equity and sustainability in the minerals planning process

This paper examines the connections between uneven development and sustaina ble development, focusing on the British land use planning system where ten sions are emerging between 'environment-led' and 'balancing' interpretation s of sustainability. The key argument is that the spatial dynamics of uneve n development are an integral component of these tensions, and their reconc iliation, as sustainable development is interpreted through planning proces ses in different localities and at different levels of governance. This per spective is developed by examining British minerals planning policy and the conflicts generated by the Lingerbay superquarry proposal on the Isle of H arris. While the UK Government has sought to use the planning system to fin d a politically acceptable 'spatial fix' for aggregates production, rather than manage resource demand, presumptions about uneven development which ap parently underpin this policy are being challenged, not least for their equ ity implications. Interpreting sustainable development in ways which are se nsitive to different contexts and the connections between them remains a ma jor challenge.