The CLA and the Campaign to Protect Rural England have said that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a boost for planning in rural areas but the NFU believes it does not go far enough.
CLA President Harry Cotterell said the new planning guidelines, slimmed down from more than 1,000 pages to around 50, mark a great improvement and could kick-start rural innovation.
He said: "This reform of the planning system is long overdue. Now the Government and local authorities need to make sure it is effectively implemented to boost rural economic growth.
"The section on supporting a prosperous rural economy is excellent, laying the foundations for the growth of all types of business in rural areas. This includes conversion of existing buildings, constructing well-designed new ones, allowing new land-based rural businesses to get started and helping farmers to diversify."
The CLA President said the NPPF’s "presumption in favour of sustainable development" will give a fillip to rural businesses, allowing planning applications to proceed more quickly in the many areas where the local authority has failed to produce an up-to-date plan.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) believes Ministers have made significant progress towards meeting the concerns raised by rural campaigners about the draft planning framework published last year, making some vital improvements that should achieve better planning outcomes.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) acknowledges the importance of the rural economy whilst continuing to appreciate the importance of protecting the countryside.
Mr Cotterell, the CLA President added: "From an initial reading, it appears to be designed to boost a countryside in England that’s desperate for jobs and housing and to give us the rural economic growth needed for the sound management of landscape, conservation and heritage."
However, there have been significant caveats introduced on the original ’presumption in favour of sustainable development’ that means it is far from the simplification of planning laws originally expected.
NFU head of policy services Andrew Clark said: "For too long the rural economy has been overlooked and underserved by planning regulations. As far as the NPPF refers to the need to support a prosperous rural economy and provision for affordable homes in the countryside, we welcome the framework.
"While it is encouraging to see that local authorities will be expected to assess ’the needs of the food production industry and any barriers to investment that planning can resolve’ we are disappointed that Ministers have not made an explicit requirement of this assessment, and so plan for the needs of food production.
"Other sections in the NPPF appear to support a thriving and diverse rural economy, which the NFU called for, but again there appear to be substantial caveats in place for it not to be entirely positive.
"The section on protecting the natural environment reinforces the importance of taking appropriate regard to different designations is welcome, however farmers will be surprised that the NPPF provides planning status for Nature Improvement Areas and introduces the concept of ’stepping stones’ and ’wildlife corridors’ as part of the countryside hierarchy.
"In addition, the ’new opportunity for Local green space to be mapped in local and neighbourhood plans with protection equivalent to green belt land’ is extremely worrying.
"Overall, this document does improve on the previous planning policy, but it does not go far as we believe necessary to ensure that farming and horticulture can continue to develop its infrastructure and productive capacity to respond to the growing needs of the global population."
