Agriculture: Land Use

(asked on 22nd March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the (a) recommendations on land use in the National Food Strategy and (b) allocation of land within the planning system for food growing and farming.


Answered by
Stuart Andrew Portrait
Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 28th March 2022

My officials are working closely with Defra on land use, including for food production. The national food strategy for England is expected to be published after the pre-election period for the local elections given ongoing wider circumstances.

In many parts of England, using land for food growing and agriculture will not specifically require planning permission. However, our National Planning Policy Framework is clear that where planning permission is required, the importance of food production and farming should be recognised to ensure that sustainable development is achieved.

Specifically, the Framework requires local planning authorities to take into account all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, the planning authority should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality. The Framework is also clear that local authorities should encourage efficient use of land and acknowledges the importance of undeveloped land for food production.

Reticulating Splines