The NPA has urged the government to press ahead with proposed planning reforms that would make it easier for farm businesses to invest and expand.
In its response to the government’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, the NPA says it ‘wholeheartedly agrees’ with a proposed new policy to provide clarity on the relevant planning considerations for business development proposals.
In the consultation document, published in December, the government proposes that to support business growth, ‘substantial weight should be given to the economic benefits of proposals for commercial development which allow businesses to invest, expand and adapt’. This includes where this has ‘benefits for domestic food production, animal welfare and the environment which can be demonstrated through proposals for development for farm and agricultural modernisation’.
In its response, the NPA stresses that it is becoming increasingly common that the primary barrier to investing in on farm infrastructure to improve animal health and welfare and environmental impact is the difficulty in obtaining the necessary planning permission.
“Within the planning process, there needs to be an inherent understanding of the need for and importance of agricultural infrastructure in a viable and environmentally sensitive agricultural business, and a mechanism to facilitate this, ultimately delivering national food security, net zero targets and enabling government’s ambitions with regard to land use change, the Farming Roadmap and the Food Strategy,” the NPA response states.
Other key planning issues
The NPA response also:
- Backs a proposal which explicitly promotes development that enables improved accommodation for livestock.
- Agrees that Biodiversity Net Gain offers an important contribution to nature recovery but stresses that it needs to be applied in a more proportionate and consistent manner across local planning authorities. The NPA suggests that minor agricultural developments should be made exempt – and the requirement should be limited to major applications (>1,000m2), rather than all full applications.
- Calls for an extension in the permitted development right allowance from 1,000m2 for livestock agricultural buildings, which would ‘significantly enable rural improvement with regard to welfare and environmental policy.
- Seeks clarity on the management of agricultural manures and slurries, including explicitly extricating the management of agricultural wastes from the planning system, recognising that these activities are already effectively controlled via existing legislation.
- Calls on the sometimes disproportionate impact of national campaign groups on local planning applications to be addressed.