Agenda item

Having complied with the Motions Procedure as set out in the council’s Constitution the motion attached will be proposed by Cllr Peter Wilding and if duly seconded it will then be discussed at this meeting.

Cllr Wilding proposed his Motion which was seconded by Cllr Hobbs.

His Motion was as follows:

There is a growing problem in this District and across the UK of speculators buying areas of farm land or woodland and then selling it on the internet in small lots.  Look up Land for sale - Barney Estates. The speculators can double or treble their investment but at the same time they are permanently ruining the landscape by turning fields and woods into allotments.  There are 5 instances of this happening in or near my ward in the last year.  The effect can be reduced by CDC issuing an Article 4 Direction or a whole wood TPO, but this creating a huge amount of work for Enforcement and Legal.

I propose a motion as follows:

This Council deplores the practice of subdividing agricultural and forestry land into small lots for sale and asks the Leader/Chief Executive to write to the MP requesting that she lobbies Government to legislate against it.

As Cabinet member Cllr Taylor responded first. She explained that the landscape in the district is characterised in part by the network of fields and forests across our countryside. Whilst the rural landscape has been subject to change over time, fields and woodlands remains for the most part open and undeveloped, even where land is used for agricultural or forestry operations. The creation of leisure plots may result in a change of use that needs planning permission if it is used for domestic or recreational purposes, but this is not always the case if the subdivision of the land does not alter its primary use. Therefore, the local planning authority does not necessarily have control over the subdivision of fields or areas of woodland. The sub-division of fields and woodland can result in a proliferation of boundary fences, accesses, and tracks, outbuildings, and paraphernalia which is more domestic in nature, than equipment and development necessary to carry out agricultural uses or forestry operations. The subdivision of rural landscapes, the creation of leisure plots, and the development that is associated with the use is therefore often harmful to the character of the rural area.

Cllr Taylor added that an Article 4 Direction, served under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, as amended, allows a local planning authority to remove permitted development rights for some of the harmful elements that would otherwise not require planning permission. This includes means of enclosure such as fencing and hard standing for tracks. Article 4 directions are a useful tool to proactively manage what development can take place on a parcel of land. However, it is important to note that Article 4's do not prevent land from being sold or land being subdivided in terms of the ownership of the land. Seeking to control the sale of land is outside the scope of the planning system, and therefore this is beyond the remit of an Article 4 direction.

Cllr Taylor suggested that she ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities expressing the Council's concerns about the effects of sun-division of rural land and requesting that further legislation is considered to address the problem. 

Cllr Hobbs as seconder was invited to speak. He gave an example of a similar practice in Lodsworth. He added that the South Downs National Park Authority had used its statutory powers in order to help in that situation.

Cllr Moss spoke on behalf of the Liberal Democrats group and explained that the Group wished to support the Motion.

Cllr Oakley added that the practice occurs both in and out of the National Park.

Cllr Potter gave his support to the Motion.

Cllr Lintill confirmed that she was happy for the letter to be sent in her name.

In a vote the Motion was carried:

RESOLVED

This Council deplores the practice of subdividing agricultural and forestry land into small lots for sale and asks the Leader/Chief Executive to write to the MP requesting that she lobbies Government to legislate against it.