Changes to planning rules must enable the rural economy to prosper within a healthy natural environment, says the NFU.
Its comments follow a review of the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by the Communities and Local Government Committee, a Commons Select Committee which called on Government to make changes to the draft NPPF. The Committee also came up with its own definition of sustainable development which the NFU views as contradictory.
The NFU believes this very definition could, if adopted, pose potential problems to future agricultural planning applications, hampering the farming industry’s efforts to increase food production. The Committee defined sustainability as treating economic, environmental and social success equally.
NFU South East Land Use Adviser John Archer says: “Rural areas will require development if farming businesses are to secure our food supplies for the long term. To increase food production, farmers will need to invest in new buildings and renew infrastructure. It should be possible to develop a prosperous rural economy within a healthy natural environment, provided there is a common sense approach to planning.”
Mr Archer explains that the NFU remains fully supportive of the drive to promote sustainable development.
He adds: “The draft NPPF recognises the importance of food production. However, it lacks the necessary urgency to support increased productivity.”
The full report from the committee can be read
here.
Notes To Editors:
NFU South East, Unit 8, Rotherbrook Court, Bedford Road, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3QG
Telephone: 01730 711950 ISDN: 01730 266023
http://www.nfuonline.com
The NFU is the voice of British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members.
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