THE government’s rural watchdog has warned against a blanket restriction on development in the countryside.

The warning follows the government’s recent publication Planning Policy Statement 4: Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth (PPS4).

The updated statement was unveiled last month by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Conversion and re-use of existing rural buildings for economic development purposes should be encouraged, it says.

Small-scale sustainable economic development, including in remoter rural areas, should be supported, it adds.

More remote locations are not always accessible by public transport, but this should not preclude development.

The Commission for Rural Communities said much within the statement was to be applauded.

But it highlighted earlier advice which voiced concern about the application of the policy presumption for the protection of open countryside.

The commission said it remained concerned by the statement’s reference to protecting the countryside for its intrinsic character and beauty.

“This should not be read as a blanket restriction on development in the countryside, as this would run counter to the other positive messages.

“Similarly it is occasionally important for planning authorities to accept that sustainable rural communities and economies need development that is not small scale, which is the form favoured in the new PPS4.”

Both these issues illustrated the need for planning authorities to link their policies and decisions to in rural areas to local economic assessments.

Local authorities will undertake these assessments from this April.

Assessments needed to fully profile rural economies to inform spatial and other policies and decisions, said the commission.

The planning statement was first recommended by Kate Barker’s review of the planning system almost four years ago.

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents rural landowners, said it had fought hard to get its views represented.

CLA president William Worsley said: “We lobbied for several years on this new policy statement. The CLA’s hard work has borne fruit.

“Overall, we are pleased with the impact our lobbying has had.”

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