Minerals Consultation Areas are defined to ensure that the Mineral Planning Authority is aware of and involved in the determination of development proposals which may impact upon identified minerals resources to ensure that the resources are not unnecessarily steralised. These areas are defined using geological information and the approach is based on the Replacement Minerals Local Plan for Berkshire (RMLP). The areas are defined on plans that were produced jointly by the unitary authorities that make up the former Berkshire County area.