Author Description

This study involved a review of statutory development plans and Regional Planning Guidance; an examination of development control decisions relating to farm diversification; discussions with local planning authority officers and some members; questionnaires and discussion workshops involving applicant farmers and their representatives and agents; and consultations with national representative bodies. It finds that planners are generally supportive of farmers' need to diversify, though there is a wide variation in the treatment in development plans (half have no specific policies at all). The report identifies best practice, and sets out fourteen recommendations.