Durrants Jasmine Philpott, Senior Planner and Development Surveyor looks at government planning reforms taking place this Spring.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed confirmed that the government will be consulting on planning reforms to encourage farm diversification in the Spring.
This is welcome news in the wake of recent planning reforms, which have been largely focussed on the delivery of housing, with little mention of farming or rural development.
Further detail has yet to be released, but Mr Reed stated in a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference that the reforms will make it ‘quicker for farmers to build farm buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need to boost their food production’. This appears to include expanding permitted development rights to enable larger barns to be converted into a farm shop, holiday let or sports facility. The current regulations allow for up to 1,000sqm across a holding to change to a flexible commercial use, but this does not currently include holiday lets, which would need full planning permission. Mr Reed appeared to also allude to greater permitted development rights for constructing new buildings.
Readers will recall that last year saw the expansion and relaxation of permitted development rights for farmers, with more options for converting buildings to residential and commercial uses, though little had changed with regards to new agricultural buildings.
We look forward to seeing draft legislation in the Spring, and will report back in detail when it is released.
This article was published 22nd January 2025.
