This week’s announcement from communities secretary Eric Pickles represents a victory for NFU lobbying.
Mr Pickles has announced that the government will alter planning rules in England to allow farm buildings to be used for certain business purposes without the need for planning permission.
Last year, in response to a government consultation, the NFU argued that it would be right to give farmers the freedom to convert to uses including offices, retail, light industry, warehousing and financial services. The concession will apply to all these uses.
The government is to include safeguards to prevent abuse.
Only buildings in existence when the consultation paper was published last summer will be eligible for conversion. And all but the smallest buildings will need to undergo checks to ensure that there will be no unacceptable effects such as noise or transport problems. The precautions are likely to be welcomed by many farmers who would be concerned by an unfettered freedom to change the use of buildings.
In our view the government is making changes that will boost the rural economy without harming the countryside.