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One of the major problems for historic stone building conservation is identifying the source of the original stone and obtaining stone for repairs. Often the original quarry will have closed down many years ago and will have reverted to nature or have been given some form of protection for example as a country park or as a site of nature value. Such designation can make it difficult or even impossible to extract new stone even if only a very small quatity is needed.

	In 2004 the government commisioned Symonds report identified a number of building and roofing stone supply issues which needed to be addressed to ensure the correct conservation of historic buildings and a thriving building stone industry. Action is being taken on a number of these - Efforts to win stone from local sources in England Obtaining the appropriate stone for conserving historic buildings can be extremely difficult, but is essential if repairs are to both perform and weather satisfactorily. Increasingly, new build projects in historic areas require stone which is compatible with its neighbours and this usually points to using material from local quarries. Many of these sources no longer operate and re-opening them is a fraught process. Nonetheless a number of initiatives are trying to address the problem. >.
	Why use local stone 1.2Mb pdf
	Sustainable development is an increasing demand by modern society. It will also have an increasing impact on the future of the dimension stone industry. Sustainable development presents an opportunity that the dimension stone industry must embrace. This article was first published in Roc Maquina. It is downloadable here with permission.
	Is it better to use an old building or demolish it and build a new one. It has been calculated that it will take 30 years before a new energy efficient building will recoup the embodied energy thrown away by demolishing an historic one. Embodied energy is a notoriously difficult issue made worse by product manufacturers claiming the best credentials for their products. A list of articles linked from the Institute of Historic Building Conservation's journal Context will help you reach your own conclusion.
	Planning for the supply of building and roofing stones Minerals development requires planning permission from the local Minerals Planning Authority. Proposals for extraction should normally conform to that Authority's planning policies. A brief outline of Planning for the Supply of Building and Roofing Stone is provided here by the Planning Officers Society for information. > . Definitive guidance should be sought in national minerals planning guidance and policy statements (external link).
	How small is a small quarry? Minerals Policy Statement 1 (MPS1) “Planning and minerals” refers to building stone quarries in terms of small and large scale operations. However it does not provide definitions of these, leaving that to the discretion of individual Mineral Planning Authorities. >
	Obtaining stone for roof conservation Can’t they find a quarry somewhere more suitable, like an industrial estate in the Midlands? This suggestion was made by an objector to a proposal to re-open a quarry which had supplied the raw materials for hundreds of historic buildings in the south west and for which no other source was available. These sentiments are regularly expressed whenever a quarry is proposed, regardless of its size, purpose or intended duration. Clearly the notion that any similar stone will do instead is not one that accords with those who are trying to conserve historic buildings. >
	The intrinsic value of building stone Terry Hughes The English Heritage pilot study into the historic use of building stones and the need for particular stones for repair and to conserve the built heritage has raised the issue of how to determine the relative value of individual stones. This value derives from a number of intrinsic factors which will each provide a level of importance against which the stone could be assessed. Aggregating these levels for a particular stone will make it possible to rank its value in relation to other stones using a subjective grade similar to the listing grades of buildings. >.
	British Geological Survey Guide to Mineral Safeguarding in England pdf file Minerals can only be worked where they occur so with increased pressure on land use in the UK we must ensured that they are not needlessly sterilised by other development. Safeguarding encopasses the processes and mechanisms necessary to ensure that outcome. >.
	English Heritage Stone Study English Heritage is organising a series of regional meetings to discuss the feasibility of a project to gather and publish existing information on English building stones and the buildings in which they have been used. >.
	English Heritage Minerals Policy A guide to the English Heritage position on mineral extraction, high level policy documents and the winning, working and safeguarding of minerals. View it here (pdf file) or order a copy from English Heritage Customer Services 0870 333 1181 or email ask for product code 51396
	Some stone articles in Building Conservation Directory The search for stone. Graham Lott Rock of ages. Ewan Hyslop and Graham Lott New stone for old. Jamie Vans Building stones of the British isles. Frank G Dimes Shining stones.pdf Graham Lott and David Smith Testing roofing slates. Terry Hughes Stone replacement. Malcolm Coulson