Perspectives on British Rural Planning Policy, 1994-97

Andrew W. Gilg

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138332416
• eBook ISBN: 9780429822377
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

First published in 1999, this volume explores the issue of rural planning, which has become a complex activity in which policies in one area have important ramifications in other policy areas. It is thus very important for all those involved in rural planning affairs to remain not only up to date, but to place recent developments in a longer perspective.

This new series aims to answer all these needs by providing an accurate and informed account of recent developments in North American, British and European rural policy, and critiques of policy implementation and its impacts from new material and from analyses of published research findings.

This second volume in the series covers the last few years of the John Major administration until the election of the Tony Blair government in May 1997. It is divided into six chapters: overview of changes affecting all rural planning activities; the environment; town and country planning; extensive land uses; nature conservation and recreation; and social land economic issues.

The next British volume will cover the entire period of the current government, with successive volumes covering each new government as it unfolds.

1 Overview of Changes Affecting all Rural Planning Activities

The International Dimension

The Cork Declaration

In November 1996 the European Commission, in concert with the Irish Government, which held the EU Presidency, convened a conference which concluded with the issuing of the Cork Declaration: Rural Europe-Future Perspectives. The declaration had been triggered by three factors. First, the prospect of EU enlargement to the east. Second, the need to develop new policies in time for the next round of world trade talks due to start in 1999. Third, the obligation in the Maastricht Treaty to integrate environmental concerns into EU policies. According to observers (Lowe et al, 1996 and McDougal, 1996a) the declaration was a middle course between those countries like Germany and France who saw little need for further reform and those countries like the UK and the Scandinavian countries who wanted more trade liberalisation and the cost of the CAP much reduced. Although the declaration represented a move towards a wider set of objectives, one problem could be that DGXVI (Regional Policy) was not represented on the conference platform and this could indicate internal tensions over rural development strategy, notably the future of the structural funds.

The main principles of the declaration are set out below:

Rural preference Sustainable rural development must be at the top of the EU agenda and become the fundamental principle that underpins all rural policy.

Integrated approach Rural policy must encompass within the same legal and policy framework agriculture, economic diversification, management of natural resources, environmental enhancement and the promotion of culture, tourism and recreation.

Diversification Support for diversification of economic and social activity must focus on providing the framework for self-sustaining private and community-based initiatives.

Sustainability Policies should promote rural development which sustains the quality of Europe’s rural landscapes, including natural resources, biodiversity and cultural identity.

Subsidiarity Rural policy must be as decentralised as possible, based on a bottom-up approach but within a partnership framework between all levels from local to European.

Simplification Agricultural policy and rural policy needs a radical simplification of legislation to ensure greater coherence, subsidiarity and flexibility.

Programming The implementation of rural policy should be through a single integrated programme for each region.

Finance Local financial resources must be encouraged to promote rural development.

Management More training for local government and community groups.

EU Legislation

The House of Commons Select Committee on European Legislation (1995) continued to provide extremely useful summaries and comments on the mass of documentation that pours out from the European Union. In the parliamentary year 1994 to 1945, 26 papers were issued which contained reports on the following topics. These can be found in HC 70 (94-95) with the exact paper number being given in brackets in the next few paragraphs which deals with the reports for 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97.

The Committee accepted that the agricultural price proposals for 1995-96 (ix) would not be radical because the 1992 reforms were still working through, but they were nonetheless concerned at continuing high levels of expenditure, over complexity of the beef support system and lack of progress in reforming the unreformed sectors, such as sugar. The Committee also considered Arable Set-Aside (vi, vii) in particular, proposals for the 1988 five year scheme, and proposals to include land under agri-environmental measures and under afforestation schemes as eligible for the set-aside area were broadly welcomed. The Committee were however concerned (xxv) at the ad hoc and short term nature of decision making with regard to the yearly rate of set-aside and the way these had been based on not properly substantiated assumptions about world wheat prices. Proposals to prohibit the use of transplant seedlings grown conventionally in organic farming (xvii) were regretted by the Committee. Changes to the agri-monetary scheme in general and the proposal to freeze green rates were broadly welcomed in (i, iv, xiv and xxiii). Other agricultural issues to be considered were: the fruit and vegetable regime (ii); the EAGGF Guarantee section (ii); agricultural statistics (iv and xvi); beef intervention (iv); the sugar regime (v); and milk quotas (xix).

Other matters to be considered were: the LIFE programme (xxi) which is planned to grow by 12.5% to 450 million ECU in 1996-99 from 400 million ECU in 1992-95 in order to aid the creation of the Natura 2000 sites. The Committee doubted however whether this provided value for money. Proposed amendments to the 1979 Birds Directive (xvii) which related to the closed season for hunting migratory species were also considered. The Committee was concerned that proposed changes to the 1985 Environmental Asssessment Directive gave the environment disproportionate importance compared to economic development but accepted that the proposals were consistent with subsidiarity. Finally, the Committee also considered the environment and sustainable development (v); and the Structural Funds (xv).

In the 1995-96 parliamentary year the Committee (HC 51 (1995-96) 1996) examined the following topics. In agriculture the Committee were concerned that the price proposals (xiv) contained no proposals to reduce cereal or dairy product prices and no progress had been made on reform of the unreformed regimes, for example, fruit and vegetables. The Committee were also concerned at continuing high levels of expenditure and a reliance on quotas and maximum guaranteed areas which could fossilise production patterns. Turning to arable set-aside (i) (iii) and (xxiii) the Committee concluded that the system remained fundamentally flawed because constant changes in rates and penalties create instability and prevent long term planning by farmers. Reforms to the IACS system (xxii) were examined but considered to be too ambitious given that the existing scheme is far from perfect. The Committee did not have time to comment on the rushed proposals to modify the beef regime (xxix) by increasing some supports by 14% and in return cutting some cereal aid by 7%, in order to prop up the beef sector after the BSE crisis of Spring 1996. Proposed reforms to the fruit and vegetable regime (i) were however criticised for their reliance on Producer Organisations even though these were considered to be inefficient at delivering policy aims. Finally, the Committee noted the annual report on EAGGF expenditure (vi) and argued that the CAP could not be extended (vi) in its present form to the 10 countries of Eastern Europe as it was neither in their or western Europe’s interest to do so.

In other areas, the Committee considered a draft directive on modifying the 1985 directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (iii) which they considered could conflict with UK Town and Country Planning legislation. The Committee also expressed concern that the list of new projects, for example, wind farms, that would or might need an Environmental Assessment were appropriate. A report on the Fifth Environmental Action Programme (xi) noted that there had been some but variable progress and so proposals (xv) were made to speed up implementation. Finally, the Committee considered draft ideas for a policy on the conservation of wetlands (i, vi and xiii) and argued that the definition of wetlands was too all embracing. Instead it queried whether a more targeted approach was needed and whether wise use of wetlands would better be achieved by bottom-up co-operation at the local level or top-down regulation via directives.

In the 1996-97 parliamentary year the Select Committee (HC 36 (96-97) dealt with a draft Council Regulation on organic production (i and xii). The Committee saw obvious merit in introducing a coherent structure, but thought that agreement might not be easy, even though many of the proposals reflected existing UKROFS (United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards) practice. Finally, the Committee expressed continued concern about the legality of proposals to amend the 1985 Environmental Assessment Directive (xvi).

The House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1996a) produced a report on the enlargement of the European Union and CAP reform. The report was based on a strategy paper by the European Commission and broadly welcomed the analysis provided by the Commission. This argued that quotas and set-aside have no place in an enlarged CAP and that at the end of the expected transition phase farmers should be able to compete at world market prices. Compensatory payments should also be decoupled and be regarded as strictly time-limited adjustment aids. Reductions in price support should be coupled to policies for alternative forms of employment. Integrated Rural Policy is a welcome way of drawing together these considerations, but concepts such as cross-compliance are unhelpful. Finally, the report argued that agricultural payments for environmental services are particularly vulnerable to capture by interest groups and should not be seen as an alternative to price support but should only be made available under a clearly defined environmental policy.

Proposed reforms to the fruit and vegetable regime were also examined by the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1996b). The Committee did not like the proposals, in particular the proposed continuation of the intervention system and the enhancement of the role of producer organisations, because this would penalise the efficient producer, act against the interest of the consumer and continue to serve the interests of those who already produce the largest surpluses.

European environmental policies continue to grow in importance, as reported by Haigh (1995) and accordingly the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1995) examined the work of the newly created European Environment Agency and concluded that environmental legislation is not being fully implemented by member states and so proposed that the Agency could be given the powers of an inspectorate to visit member countries, and verify the accuracy and consistency of national methods of data collection, collation and analysis.

Environmental information was also the subject of a House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1997) report on the implementation of the 1990 Directive on Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment which came into force in the UK in 1992 under the Environmental Information Regulations. The Committee concluded that the Directive has had some success in improving access to information and in stimulating public involvement in environmental protection. However, it is not achieving its full intended impact and so the Committee recommended that the EU Directive should contain a more forceful assertion of citizen’s rights and a strong presumption in favour of openness.

In the UK the report noted that government departments and public bodies had made considerable efforts to promote openness, although some bodies still tried to evade the regulations by a number of ruses, for example by labelling documents as draft (Milne, 1997a). The Committee thus recommended that the Department of the Environment should draw up a list of bodies (not necessarily exhaustive) covered by the UK Regulations and should revise its guidance about exemptions relating to confidentiality, deliberations, internal communications and incomplete information, in order to guard against further misuse of possible reasons for non-disclosure of information. For those wishing to find environmental information the Department of the Environment issued A guide to using public registers of environmental information as a free document to the public in 1995.

Another European perspective is provided by Hoggart, Buller and Black (1995) in Rural Europe which asserts that the environment rather than agricultural use or low density is becoming the central defining feature of rural areas. Nonetheless, in spite of globalisation and the CAP, rural diversity is still more common than rural uniformity across Europe.

The Three Rural White Papers

The White Papers were announced in October 1994 and were to be the first countryside policy statement since the famous wartime Scott report of 1942. The decision to publish three papers, one for England, Scotland and Wales was heralded to be significant, as was the decision for the English paper to be produced jointly by the DOE and MAFF with close co-operation from other departments. Views were invited from a wide cross-section of organisations in November 1994 (see for example some publications later in this chapter) and these were analysed by Traill-Thomson (1995) from which it was concluded that the market ethos of the Government was at odds with the development of a rural policy. This conflict meant that it was virtually inevitable that a worthy but largely inadequate document would be produced, along the lines of ‘Our Common Inheritance’, the 1990 statement on the environment and its annual successors.

The English White Paper

This was published in November 1995 (Cm 3016). It provided a sound, albeit bland, account of the issues facing rural England in 4 major sections which dealt with: Government and people; working in the countryside; living in the countryside; and a green and pleasant land. It stated six principles for the future of the countryside:

• the pursuit of sustainable development;

• shared responsibility for the countryside as a national asset, which serves people who live and work there as well as visitors;

• dialogue to help reconcile competing priorities;

• distinctiveness, approaching rural policies in a way which is flexible and responds to the character of the countryside;

• economic and social diversity; and

• sound information as the basis for effective policies.

It concluded with a checklist of action points. These were either exhortations, e.g. using cars less, or restatements of existing policies. The only new measures involved a new Rural Business Class to encourage rural enterprise and rate relief for village shops, and promises to introduce already announced changes, e.g. protection for important hedgerows. The immediate reaction was a guarded welcome for the general tone of the White Paper but disappointment about the lack of specific measures. Conservation groups and rural businesses were on the whole more pleased than the farming community.

An eclectic reaction (Potter, 1996) was provided by the House of Commons Environment Committee (1996a) which: argued that the relationship between PPG7 (countryside and the rural economy) and PPG 13 (transport) should be reassessed; doubted if the target of doubling the woodland cover in 50 years was achievable; criticised the lack of targets indicating practical ways to carry forward the White Paper process; and expressed concern that the recently published countryside character map was no substitute for statutory protection.

The Government issued a report on progres...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Chapter One: Overview of Changes Affecting all Rural Planning Activities
• Chapter Two: The Environment
• Chapter Three: Town and Country Planning
• Chapter Four: Extensive Land Uses
• Chapter Five: Nature Conservation and Recreation
• Chapter Six: Social and Economic Issues
• References