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Planning policy must encourage a prosperous and ‘broader’ rural economy, says CLA A rural affairs watchdog in the West Midlands has said the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published by the Government last week is "better than expected" for rural areas. However, it said the framework still needs to support the need for a prosperous and "broader" rural economy, with housing development across all rural settlements to enable people to both work and live in the countryside. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), based at Woodseaves, near Stafford, commended the Government for reducing thousands of pages of policy to just 58 pages of simple, plain English. It said it was pleased to see more support for a prosperous rural economy but that the NPPF must encourage a "broader" economy if rural areas are to meet their full potential for economic growth. CLA West Midlands director, Caroline Bedell, said: "We welcome the rebalancing in this draft NPPF to introduce the presumption in favour of sustainable development. The economic pillar of sustainable development appears to be back at the table along with the social and environmental pillars. "However, we do not want to see national planning policies for local designation of green space undo all the Government's good work for the rural economy. We hope the future NPPF will make improvements to the natural environment for the good of the rural economy." Mrs Bedell said she was also concerned about the housing and heritage chapters in the draft NPPF. She said: "The policy for rural housing perpetuates the grudging attitude towards much-needed affordable rural housing and the need to locate it close to local services. This type of policy statement will be the kiss of death for most rural housing planning applications. "National planning policy must accept that almost every settlement in England is in need of some housing, however small in numbers, to make communities live and thrive. Only then will rural services become more economically viable." The CLA recently published Averting Crisis in Heritage: A CLA Report on Reforming a Crumbling System. Mrs Bedell said the historic environment chapter of the NPPF is not good for heritage. She said: "The NPPF contains no understanding of the need to use heritage buildings and make them viable. It is obvious that old buildings need to be sympathetically updated and changed if they are to remain valued and relevant in the future." |
Contact Caroline Bedell MRICS FAAV
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Caroline leads the Midlands team and has overall responsibility for the management of the CLA’s regional business and membership.
A qualified Chartered Surveyor respected throughout the industry, she also represents the CLA on a wide range of regional committees and panels.
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