In 2004 the government commisioned report on Planning for the Supply of Natural Building and Roofing stone in England and Wales identified a number of 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. > . . . . .
	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 stoneTerry 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. > . . .