Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) peri-urban and (b) high-quality rural land used for food growing is protected within the planning system.

We place great importance upon our agriculture and food production, and this is reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework already 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, then we have been clear that planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.

Our recent consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework proposes a change to strengthen current policy on the consideration given to the relative value of agricultural land for food production. The consultation sought views on how we can ensure high value farmland is adequately weighted in the planning application process.

Following the May UK Farm to Fork Summit we announced our proposals to support the agricultural industry to boost production and extend the growing season by revising national planning policy and making the approval of new controlled environment horticulture businesses a priority for councils to make it easier to build new glasshouses.