2 Planning policy, the rural economy and the environment
(a) Planning Policy for Rural Areas: General Principles
12.06 Post-war planning policy placed considerable emphasis on protecting good quality land from development. This policy was emphasised in Planning Policy Guidance Note 7 (‘PPG7’) The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development (1997).
PPG 7 adopted the MAFF Land Classification System, under which farmland was classified into six grades according to its productive potential: Grade 1 (land of exceptional quality), 2 (versatile land), 3a (land with few agricultural limitations), and grades 3b–5 (land with limitations varying from moderate to severe).6 PPG7 advised planning authorities to bear in mind that any change of better quality land to non agricultural uses may be difficult to reverse7 and that considerable weight should therefore be given to protecting land in categories 1,2 and 3a from development in order to preserve it as a national resource for the future. Development on category 1, 2 or 3a land should only be permitted in exceptional cases.8 This long-standing policy has gradually been relaxed by revisions to planning policy guidance. PPG7 was replaced by a new Planning Policy Statement 7 (‘PPS7’) in 2004 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas.9 The National Planning Policy Framework in turn replaced this in 2012.12.07 The National Planning Policy Framework10 greatly simplified the planning guidance to local planning authorities on rural development and land use, while retaining most of the key principles underpinning the former PPS 7. The policies set out in the National Planning Policy Framework are a ‘material consideration’ that must be taken into account by local planning authorities when making development control decisions11. The Framework principles must also be taken into account by planning bodies when making local development plans, and decisions on planning applications must be ‘plan-led’ ie a decision must be determined in accordance with the local or neighbourhood development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise12.
12.08 The National Planning Policy Framework sets out several ‘core’ principles underpinning government policy for rural areas, and which local development plans and development control decisions should seek to implement. The overarching principle in the Framework is the promotion of sustainable development in the countryside. The Framework introduced a new presumption in favour of sustainable development:
‘At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan making and decision taking.
For plan making this means that:
•Local planning authorities should positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area;
•Local Plans should meet objectively assessed needs with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change, unless – any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole, or specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted.
For decision taking this means:
•Approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay; and
•Where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out of date, granting permission unless: any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed the policies in this Framework as a whole; or specific policies in this Framework indicate that development should be restricted’.13
12.09 Other core principles include the need to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and the importance of supporting thriving rural communities; encouraging the re-use of existing buildings where possible and discouraging the development of ‘Greenfield’ land; and contributing to the conservation of the natural environment by ensuring that the allocation of land for development should prefer land of lesser environmental value, where this is consistent with other policies in the planning framework.14
12.10 The fundamental principle underlying the planning guidance is that of promoting Sustainable Development in the countryside.
This is defined by reference to the guiding principles set out in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy Securing the Future:15 living within the planet’s environmental limits; ensuring a strong, healthy and just society; achieving a sustainable economy; promoting good governance; and using sound science responsibly. The Planning Policy Framework focuses on each of the social, economic and environmental functions of the planning system in supporting sustainable development,16 and this can be seen in the core planning principles it establishes for rural areas:(i)Planning should support economic growth in rural areas by taking a positive approach to sustainable new development. The planning system should seek to promote a strong rural economy, and the guidance stresses that local plans should promote the development and diversification of agriculture and other land based rural businesses.17 It supports rural tourism and other rural enterprises, and stresses that where possible development in rural areas should be sited so as to give people the opportunity to use access by public transport, walking and cycling.
(ii)New building development in the open countryside away from existing settlements should be strictly controlled. Priority should be given to the re-use of ‘Brownfield’ sites in preference to the development of Greenfield sites. Planning policies reflected in local development plans, and individual development control decisions, should encourage the effective use of land by re-using land that has been previously developed.18
(iii)All development in rural areas should be well-designed and inclusive, in keeping and scale with its location, and sensitive to the character of the countryside and local distinctiveness.
12.11 Perhaps the most significant change is that in the planning status of the best quality farmland (grades 1 to 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification). Although the presence of the best and most versatile agricultural land in grades 1, 2 and 3a, should always be taken into account in development decisions, the National Planning Policy Framework requires this to be balanced alongside other sustainability considerations.
The guidance states that local planning authorities should take into account the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and where significant development of farmland is demonstrated to be necessary they should seek to use areas of ‘poorer quality land’ in preference to that of higher quality.19 The emphasis on the protection from development of the best and most productive agricultural land remains; for example, the reference to the need to demonstrate the necessity for development indicates a presumption against using good quality land for non agricultural development. Nevertheless the guidance is much looser and less restrictive than that formerly to be found in PPG 7 and PPS 7.12.12 The Planning Policy Framework also stresses the importance of planning authorities adopting policies to meet housing needs in rural areas. This should primarily be achieved by making land available in or near existing settlements, and development plans must be informed by an up to date assessment of local housing need. Planning policy remains focused on imposing controls on new house building in the countryside away from established settlements, or from areas allocated for housing in development plans.20 In some cases it may be necessary to construct isolated dwellings in open farmland to house essential agricultural workers who need to live in close proximity to their place of work. Local planning authorities should avoid permitting new isolated houses to be constructed in the countryside unless there are ‘special circumstances’. These include circumstances where there is a proven ‘essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at or near their place of work in the countryside’ or where there is a proposal for the re-use of redundant or disused buildings.21
12.13 Where development is consented for a dwelling to house an agricultural worker it is usual for an agricultural occupancy condition to be imposed on the grant of planning permission, requiring the dwelling to be occupied only by a full time agricultural worker.22 In order to ensure that dwellings remain available for meeting the functional need that has been established as the basis for granting development consent, and to prevent abuse, the former PPS7 stipulated that planning permission should be made subject to appropriate agricultural occupancy conditions.
Guidance on the terms of occupancy conditions, and model examples, were given in DOE Circular 11/95. Local planning authorities should set out in Local Development Documents their policy approach to the retention or removal of agricultural occupancy conditions. This should be based on an up to date assessment of the demand for farm (or other occupational) dwellings in the area, bearing in mind that it is the need for a dwelling for someone solely, mainly or last working in agriculture in an area as a whole, and not just on the particular holding, that is relevant in the case of farm workers’ cottages.23 Many farm cottages will be subject to occupancy conditions of this kind.(b) Planning Policy and the Natural Environment
12.14 The National Planning Policy Framework recognizes the special role that the planning system plays in protecting both landscapes and biodiversity. The planning system should contribute to and enhance the local environment by protecting valued landscapes and geological features, by recognizing the wider benefits of ecosystem services, minimizing damage to biodiversity and where possible encouraging gains in biodiversity.24 In addition, the conservation of wildlife and the cultural heritage are also important considerations eg in National Parks, where they are key features for which the area will have been designated, and these factors should also be given great weight in planning policies and development control decisions.
12.15 The Planning Framework stresses that great weight should be given to conserving landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Norfolk Broads and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. The Planning Framework also stresses that the protection of wildlife and the cultural heritage in the National Parks and Norfolk Broads are also important considerations that should be given be given great weight by planning bodies.25 Planning guidance indicates that planning permission should be refused for major developments in National Parks and AONBs other than in exceptional circumstances – and where there is a clear public interest to be served by giving permission for development.26 Where applications for development consent are made then local planning bodies must, before making a decision, make an assessment of several factors:
(i)the need for the development, and the impact of permitting it, or refusing it, upon the local economy;
(ii)the cost of, and scope for, developing elsewhere outside the Park or AONB, or (alternatively) the cost and scope for meeting that need in some other way; and
(iii)any detrimental effect on the environment, the landscape and recreational opportunities, if the development is consented, and the extent to which these impacts can be moderated.
12.16 The National Planning Policy Framework also sets out planning policy to protect nature conservation features of the countryside, and to promote biodiversity. As a consequence of the implementation of the EU’s Habitats and Species Directive,27 all local development plans must include policies in respect of the conservation of the natural beauty and amenity of the countryside and the landscape. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 201028 require that development plans must ‘include policies encouraging the management of features of the landscape which are of major importance for wild fauna and flora’. This is intended to encourage, through the land use planning system, the maintenance of habitat features necessary for genetic exchange, breeding and migration of wild animal and bird species, as required by the EU Directive.29 The features to be accommodated in plans are those which ‘ by virtue of their linear or continuous structure’ are essential for the migration, dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species eg traditional field boundaries and hedge systems, riverbanks and other features (such as ponds) used as stepping stones by wildlife species.
12.17 Clearly, the adoption of such planning policies could have implications for agricultural land use needing planning permission, and for development on agricultural land. Local development plans should plan for biodiversity protection at a landscape scale (crossing local authority boundaries if necessary), and map planning policies to nature conservation sites, such as SSSI’s. The development plan should indicate the location of designated nature conservation sites, making clear the hierarchy and distinctions between the different statutory designations (international, national and locally designated sites). It should also identify areas for the restoration and creation of new priority habitats that contribute to regional targets and support the creation and/or restoration of habitats through appropriate plan policies.30 As explained above, the National Planning Policy Framework complements these conservation focussed polices by encouraging the targeting of development away from sites that may have a high nature conservation interest and towards land of poorer agricultural quality and/or versatility.31
12.18 If a proposed development on land within or outside an SSSI is likely to have an adverse effect on the site’s special interest features, then the planning guidance stresses that planning permission should not normally be granted.32 This does not preclude the grant of planning permission where other material factors outweigh the conservation interest, but it signifies that special weight must be attached to the conservation interest in development control decisions. Where an adverse impact on an SSSI is likely, an exception should only be made (and permission given) where the benefits of development clearly outweigh both the impacts that it is likely to have on the features of the site that make it of special scientific interest and any broader impacts on the national network of SSSIs.33 Where permission is granted then local authorities should use planning conditions and/or planning obligations to mitigate the harmful effects of the development and, where possible, to ensure the conservation and enhancement of the sites biodiversity or geological interest.