Preparation is the Key to Planning Success – Says CLA

An unbalanced approach to the concept of sustainable development can pose one of the key barriers to a successful farm diversification – according to the President of the CLA, the rural economy experts.

Henry Aubrey Fletcher will tell a farm and estate diversification conference at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, next week that planning is frequently seen as the biggest single obstacle to successful diversification, development or economic activity in rural areas.

"A successful farm diversification can create jobs and re-energise the local economy and, at the same time, provide a viable economic use for otherwise redundant farm buildings," he said.

The CLA president, who has managed a successful diversification on his own, Buckinghamshire, estate will tell delegates that they need to ensure they have carried out proper market research prior to making their planning application. So much of the success of an application depends, he will say, on good preparation.

The conference, titled: "Securing the Future" will hear that a proper market analysis and an understanding of the planning process are vital tools in achieving a successful outcome. The CLA President will say that consideration should be given to competition, travel to work issues, demand and alternatives.

"The government has recently given clear policy guidance to local and regional planning authorities that planning policy needs to respond to local market signals so that it does not become a barrier to employment and economic well-being. That is a major step forward but it underlines how important it is that applicants have at least as clear and detailed understanding of all the issues that might impact on the local or regional market and the gaps within it," said the CLA President.