Excavations can cause tension between local spatial interests at excavation sites and the demand for national resources. Policymakers have to weigh up the choices in sustainability trade-offs between the geological and geographical aspects. This shows in the developments of resource and spatial policies. A novel historical approach investigates the long-term sustainable dynamics of gravel excavation and land use policies in the Netherlands in a transnational context, assessing the roles of local, national and international actors. Amid the gradual merging of land use and resource policies, this article reveals how local spatial and sustainability aspects prevailed and resulted in offshoring a geologically abundant natural resource and its connected sustainability issues.