The NFU has warned that farmers must be consulted “every step of the way” following the news that the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill would require farmers and other landowners to sell land for development below the market value.
The government has argued that so-called hope value should be removed from the assessment of compensation when schemes deliver benefits for communities which are in the public interest. Hope value is the additional value uplift attributed to the land based on the anticipated increase in its worth due to the expectation of future development.
Under the new Bill, where there are no objections, inspectors, councils or mayors will now be able to take decisions on compulsory purchase orders to remove hope value instead of just the Secretary of State.
NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said, “Giving local authorities more power to acquire land through compulsory purchase and process of using directions to remove ‘hope value’ will need to be thought through carefully to ensure all farmers are compensated fairly.
“UK food security and the protection of our environment has rarely been more vital, and productive farmland needs securing for our collective future more than ever. This Bill comes at a time when the UK farming industry is under immense financial pressure due to the loss of direct payments, extreme weather and the impacts of the family farm tax. So, farmers and landowners must be fully consulted every step of the way.
“We appreciate there are huge demands being made on land for more housing and for critical national infrastructure. But UK food security and the protection of our environment has rarely been more vital, and productive farmland needs securing for our collective future more than ever. The NFU supports moves to get rid of the regulatory burden and speed up planning processes and applications to enable sustainable on farm investment.”
The NFU added that it believes that compulsory purchase should be a last resort and an agreement with a landowner for a site should always be reached wherever possible, but other organisations were more critical of Labour’s plans. Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, said, “We have been supportive of many of the Government’s changes to planning policy, but giving councils more power to reduce the value of land is a step too far, especially in the context of such a challenging outlook for farmers and the inheritance tax fiasco.
“This is not about people blocking development, it’s about the state paying the market price for land. We need more houses and more economic development, but not at the cost of basic principles,” he said.
“We urgently need more affordable housing, but pushing landowners into selling land isn’t the answer,” commented Gavin Lane, deputy vice-president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). “Compulsory purchase drags landowners through years of stress, disruption and compensation battles, harming individuals and communities alike.
“Instead of pushing landowners to bear the burden, why not work with them? Most want to see progress and could deliver development faster, cheaper and with more care. Hitting landowners isn’t the solution – fixing the planning system is.”
Broadcaster and farmer Jeremy Clarkson went even further, comparing the proposals to Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe’s land grab.
