South Gloucestershire Aggregate Resource Assessment

An Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Aggregates Producing Areas of South Gloucestershire was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in 2009 and 2010. The project was funded by English Heritage, through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). It is one of a number of similar projects summarizing the aggregate resource of counties, including Wiltshire and Swindon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Warwickshire. The project mapped the potential aggregate producing areas of the county. The resource comprises: Carboniferous Limestones and Quartzitic Sandstone forming the Carboniferous Limestone Supergroup, which outcrops in the Unitary District (UD) at the northern edge of the Bristol Coalfield; River Terrace deposits; Alluvial deposits potentially masking River Terrace deposits; and sand deposits of the River Severn. The potential aggregates resource of the UD was divided into two Aggregate Character Areas (ACAs): the Land Based ACA, comprising the Carboniferous Limestone Supergroup along with River Terrace and Alluvial deposits; and the Severn ACA, comprising the area south of the First Severn Crossing, below Low Mean Tide.