The Association launched a report – entitled Planning for Change in the Countryside – which says the current planning system acts as a brake on “appropriate and much-needed development in the countryside” in the misplaced belief that this supports communities and the environment.
The report notes:
‘The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) represents more than 35,000 members who collectively manage and/or own about half of all rural land in England and Wales. …They also manage and/or own as much as a third of all heritage in England and Wales, making the CLA by far the largest heritage-owner group.’
Among other points, the report says:
– ‘Heritage policy should be more responsive to economic factors by emphasising the critical importance of viability and proportionality and by facilitating modernisation that does not harm the historic or architectural significance of the building.
– Small-scale rural development should benefit from appropriate permitted development rights and a simplified system for heritage consents for minor and/or beneficial works should be put in place.
– A consistent approach by all planning authorities should be put in place to provide pre-application advice for small-scale rural development.
– A third of all planning applications have heritage implications, and heritage issues are dealt with through the planning system. This is not a separate issue which can be parked for another day or ‘just a Department for Culture Media and Sport matter’… any credible green paper on planning and regeneration must include heritage.
– Listed buildings, ancient monuments and conservation areas are conserved through enlightened policies that enable integrated management of these assets by owners and tenants. This integrated management can embrace conservation within the viable management of the property in which the asset is situated for the benefit of current and future generations. The new Planning Policy for Heritage should be made more responsive to economic factors by emphasising the critical importance of viability and proportionality, and by facilitating modernisation that does not damage the historic or architectural significance of buildings.
– Significant opportunities and needs exist for small-scale local supplies of minerals including vernacular building materials. Building stone is vital to the repair of heritage buildings.
– Heritage policy should be more responsive to economic factors by emphasising the critical small-scale rural development should benefit from appropriate permitted development rights and a simplified system for heritage consents for minor and/or beneficial works should be put in place.
– The system is predicated on the assumption that any change, however small, is potentially damaging and needs expert scrutiny. In practice the experts needed are simply not there, and most heritage decisions are taken by development control staff who lack the necessary heritage-related skills to be able to take an informed decision…. consequences… include… a perception that owning heritage is a mug’s game, which is damaging to its long-term survival’.
CLA News: LINK
Download the Planning for Change report at: LINK
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