The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 62

62 PROPERTY
AUG/SEP 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk
WILL THE REVISED NPPF EASE
RURAL PLANNING RULES?
Most farmers and landowners will be familiar with the challenges posed by the UK planning system in respect to rural
development - challenges that many consider a prime contributor to the failure of rural communities to grow and thrive.
FOR the last twenty years, the
planning system has been de-
signed to support developments
that are considered sustainable.
Typically, that means new devel-
opment needs to be on the edge
of existing settlements where it
can benefit from the existing ser-
vices and facilities - making it very
difficult to secure planning per-
mission in rural areas which don’t
benefit from as many facilities.
Of course, that ignores the fact
that many rural areas need new
homes as well, to allow younger
people to remain in the area and
to protect the community bonds
that are so important in rural life.
That is part of sustainable devel-
opment too.
‘ There are several
scenarios in which
recent changes
and softening of
the planning rules
will be beneficial
to farmers and
landowners
’
While national planning policy
had gone some way to recognis-
ing that need, the recent changes
to the National Planning Policy
Framework (NPPF) have gone
even further in both supporting
rural communities and moving
closer towards a system that
allows farmers and landowners to
make the most of their land and
property.
There are several scenarios
in which recent changes and
softening of the planning rules
will be beneficial to farmers and
landowners:
Building a home for
family members
Restrictions on building in the
countryside often poses signifi-
cant problems for farming fami-
lies looking to implement succes-
sion plans, preventing younger
generations from taking over the
running of a farm business.
The recent CLA campaign has
been helpful in drawing attention
to the issue, resulting in the new
NPPF recognising and seeking
to remedy the issue, introduc-
ing policy support for “those
taking majority control of a farm
business”. Although planning
permission is of course still a
requirement, it’s a shift in empha-
sis that offers hope to farmers
considering their succession and
retirement plans.
Selling land
While changes introduced to
ease the succession planning
process and allow rural commu-
nities to grow and flourish are
welcome, passing on the farm
business is not a viable, or de-
sired, route for everyone. Some
farmers may well be k