She writes:
Why are we not seeing more column inches on the impact of housing development on our best and most versatile agricultural land?
Despite there being a national requirement for the planning system to address this, it is not clear if it always influences decision making at a local level. We need to move beyond debates about land being classed as ‘brownfield’ and look further than simplified arguments surrounding the greenbelt.
Local councils need to take a closer look at the practical, economic, social and environmental impact of planned new housing developments on farming and food production.
There are conflicting arguments as to how we should plan for accommodating our growing population in England and Wales.
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There is a clear rural dimension to this, with agricultural workers and young families struggling to find affordable accommodation to help them stay in their local communities. However, it is the big housing figures and hostile planning applications that make the news headlines.
The planning system should be assessing the quality of agricultural land that is earmarked for housing. It should also consider knock on effects such as displaced flooding, or pressure on local infrastructure.
Our agricultural land is an important source of wildlife, with our farmers working extremely hard to protect and enhance millions of hectares of British countryside, maintaining footpaths, protecting watercourses and managing wildlife habitats. Does the planning system not need to take a more balanced view on this too?
For some rural towns to grow it seems inevitable that housing development will encroach on the best and most versatile land. There is simply no alternative. Developers often prefer a green field site where they can plan with fewer inherited issues and have more freedom over proposed layouts. For the farmer it can be a chance to sell land and invest on farm. There are some clear positives.
The counter balance is that we need the planning system to address how future housing impacts on farm and food production. Planners must ensure adjacent farmers do not get burdened with unhappy neighbours, who don’t want new farm buildings, or wish to walk their dogs through farm fields during lambing.
Local planning authorities must reassure farmers, growers and landowners that they are fully evaluating all of these issues when making their decisions which could have a lasting and irreversible effect on the shape of our rural communities.