The Government has not delivered on pledges to help farmers and other rural businesses reduce planning barriers, the CLA claims.
The campaign group for landowners and rural businesses has criticised Whitehall for not delivering on last year’s Rural Planning Review, a 10-point plan for boosting productivity in rural areas.
This plan included a pledge to review planning rules that were holding back rural communities, jobs and growth.
The CLA has outlined a number of proposed reforms they say will contribute to the rural economy.
They recommended farmers be granted the right to erect small buildings (up to 458sqm) without prior notification of the planning authority in order to reduce costs and delays.
The campaign group also called for it to be made easier to convert agricultural buildings to homes. They said this is being held back by the ‘obstructionist attitudes’ of local authorities, who have refused half of all applications.
The construction of between one and nine affordable homes in rural villages would, the CLA also argued, help to address the acute shortage of homes for those who want to live and work in rural communities, as well as create income opportunities for local landowning businesses.
CLA president Ross Murray expressed disappointment at the failure to deliver the ‘fast track planning certification process’ (also known as ‘Planning-in-Principle’) that was specifically promised in the plan.
Mr Murray said: ‘Businesses across our countryside are working through tough times. There is a bright future ahead for many but it requires investment.
‘It is hard enough for businesses to take steps to invest but it can become impossible when faced with confusing, slow and obstructive planning rules.’
‘Ministers must now act,’ he said.
‘Every day of further delay is damaging given the urgent need to boost investment and growth across the rural economy.’
