Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedford Borough Council and Luton Borough Council are working together to prepare a new Bedfordshire Minerals and Waste Plan, looking ahead to 2050.
Where does the sand, gravel and other materials used to build homes and roads come from? And what happens to waste after it is collected?
These are some of the questions the new plan will help address.
Although the name sounds technical, the plan deals with things that are part of everyday life. Materials such as sand and gravel are needed to build homes, roads and other infrastructure, while facilities are also needed to process, store and manage those materials and the waste produced by homes and businesses.
For minerals, this can include places such as quarries and sand and gravel pits, as well as sites where materials are stored or processed.
The plan will help identify:
- what minerals and waste facilities Bedfordshire is likely to need in the future
- where different types of minerals and waste development may be needed
- the policies that future proposals will need to meet
- how potential impacts on local communities, roads, the environment and Bedfordshire’s towns and countryside should be considered
It will replace:
- Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Borough Councils Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Strategic Sites and Policies (adopted in January 2014)
- Bedfordshire and Luton Minerals and Waste Local Plan (adopted in January 2005)
Have your say
Residents, businesses, community groups and other organisations will have opportunities to help shape the plan as it develops.
The first stage is a scoping consultation, starting on 12 October 2026.
This is an early stage in preparing the plan. Rather than asking people to comment on a finished plan, the consultation will ask what issues the new plan should consider as Bedfordshire plans for its future minerals and waste needs up to 2050.
This could include views on the issues that matter to local communities and what should be taken into account when planning for future mineral extraction and waste facilities.
No decisions have been made about where future sites should go.
How is this different from the Local Plan?
The Bedfordshire Minerals and Waste Plan is separate from the local plans being prepared by the individual councils.
Local plans look more broadly at where new homes, jobs and other development should go, together with the infrastructure needed to support them.
The Bedfordshire Minerals and Waste Plan has a more specific role. It focuses on the materials needed for construction, such as sand and gravel, where these materials may be extracted or processed, and the facilities needed to manage waste.
This means the Minerals and Waste Plan is being developed separately from the 3 councils’ new local plans and has its own consultation stages and timetable.
What happens next?
The 3 councils have published a formal notice confirming that work on the new plan is beginning, together with a timetable setting out how it will be developed.
The scoping consultation is the first opportunity to help shape the plan. There will be further opportunities to comment as the plan develops.
Preparing the plan together
The Bedfordshire Minerals and Waste Plan is being prepared jointly by:
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Bedford Borough Council
- Luton Borough Council
Once adopted, it will become the Minerals and Waste Plan for all 3 council areas.
Contact us
If you have a question, contact us:
Email: mwplans@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
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Minerals and waste plan data
These CSV files provide information on plan-making and the timetable in a standard format as required by the Planning Data (England) Regulations 2026. The data within these files is being provided under the Open Government Licence.