EVIDENCE REQUIRED: Extension of temporary uses of land for an ‘additional 28 days’ for 2022 only
Since last autumn, the CLA had been lobbying governments in England and Wales for an extension of the permitted development rights for an ‘additional 28 days’ for temporary uses of land in 2022. In England, our lobbying has so far been unsuccessful. We continue to lobby in Wales, and we may make another approach to the government in England given their decision was taken prior to the Omicron outbreak.
However, in order to have any chance of success we need much more evidence from CLA members in both Wales and England to demonstrate to government how useful the previous extensions had been in 2020 and 2021 for rural businesses. The information which the CLA has so far been able to provide related to pop-up campsites. It proved insufficient on its own to persuade Ministers at the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities.
In Wales, the Welsh Government issued a consultation before Christmas which includes questions about whether an extension of the ‘additional 28 days’ should go ahead in 2022. The consultation deadline is 15 February 2022 and can be found here. Supporting evidence is needed urgently to underpin the CLA response.
This is particularly important because it has been made clear to us that English and Welsh Ministers have been receiving complaints from members of the public whose amenity has been affected by the extension of the temporary uses of land, notably in relation to pop-up campsites and temporary car parks.
In order to support CLA lobbying efforts, please get in touch with us before 31 January if you have benefitted from the ‘additional 28 days’ rights in 2020 and 2021. We need to show that the additional 28 days were used for a variety of temporary uses of land, and benefitted local economies in less affluent as well as more affluent areas of Wales and England. So please email Fenella.collins@cla.org.uk with details of:
- the activities you used the extra days for,
- how many extra people you employed (if applicable),
- the impact on revenue for your own business(es), and whether you were able to invest or turn a temporary activity into a permanent one as a result
- any details you may have about wider spending in the local area.
We will, of course, keep this information strictly confidential.”