Immediate action on rural planning is needed to help businesses thrive and secure jobs.
As part of its Rural Powerhouse campaign, the CLA has launched a report outlying its vision for a planning system designed for the rural economy.
It calls for urgent action that will deliver a simpler and better resourced planning system, rather than a drawn- out process of fundamental changes.
With English rural businesses generating £261 billion a year, supporting them with easier planning rules is
essential as the country recovers from Covid-19, argued the CLA.
It highlighted the following areas that need reform:
The CLA also argues there should be a more flexible approach to local authority local plans and better resourcing of the national planning system.
Jonathan Roberts, director of external affairs at the CLA, said: “A planning system that acts to restrict economic growth in rural areas
effects a drag on national economic growth, leading to a failure to meet the Government’s objectives.
“But a clear and definitive policy towards greater diversification, and acceptance by all of the need for a broader economy in rural areas, could lead to real long-term benefits for the economy.”
Hear more about how the planning system needs to change on FG’s latest Over the Farm Gate podcast, available here.