Written evidence submitted by the Country
Land and Business Association
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CLA supports the way in which the CRC report
depicts the importance of the uplands and successfully identifies
the problems faced.
The uplands matter to society because through
their active management ecosystem services are provided. These
include; food, landscape, wood products, energy, natural resources
and biodiversity as well as leisure and tourism opportunities.
However, these management systems are under threat from the low
or negative financial margins. The farming systems survive only
because of the public supports. The challenge for the future is
to realise the value of the management systems that produce ecosystem
services and in doing so realise the potential of our upland areas.
The ability of upland land management to provide
a reasonable living standard is critical to the future of the
uplands. This goal will never be reached by dependence on selling
agricultural products alone. However, with the right frameworks
for public and private payment for more of the non-market ecosystem
services, alongside developing markets for renewable energy and
forestry products there is great potential to be tapped.
Upland communities form the bedrock from which
the resilience and determination of the upland land managers is
derived but they are under threat. Planning policies which should
foster economic development, (thus creating jobs) and create affordable
housing (so that those who work in the uplands can live in their
communities) is essential. Similarly, provision of rural broadband
is crucial to the sustainability of upland businesses and communities.
RESPONSE TO
THE CRC'S
RECOMMENDATIONS OUTLINED
IN THEIR
REPORT HIGH
GROUND, HIGH
POTENTIAL
In order to facilitate economic development
and the retention of upland communities the CLA believe the following
set of actions are necessary.
LEADERSHIP AND
A STRATEGIC
OVERVIEW
A cross government upland strategy must be developed.
A suitably experienced individual is needed to chair a stakeholder
group to progress and deliver such a strategy. Similarly a Defra
Minister should have explicit responsibility for upland areas.
We believe the focus on localism and Big Society
is particularly relevant in upland areas. Local Enterprise Partnerships
(LEPs) must promote and protect the economic concerns of the rural
uplands.
Economy should be included in the remit of National
Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty but without enhancing
the National Park Authorities powers. The problems with the planning
system are all the more acute in NPs because of the restrictions
on economic activity. Local communities should be able to hold
National Parks to account where due consideration has not been
given to the economics of a proposal.
FOSTERING ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
Public Support
Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) labours under the
negative concepts of agriculture. These areas could instead be
referred to as Environmentally Favoured Areas (EFA). Greater recognition
needs to be giving to the positive outputs of our uplands including
the ecosystem services that can be provided through active management.
This must include the vital contribution they make to food production
and animal breeding.
The upcoming CAP reform should recognise the
challenges of farming and land management in Europe's marginal
areas. Consolidation of the LFA payments into the core basic Pillar
1 supports would make a clearer, simpler, more stable and enduring
contractual payment. This would enable upland farms to provide
a wide range of ecosystem services including food. A switch in
policy emphasis is likely to be supported by society as shown
by the recent report by FERA and Newcastle University.[1]
If these payments had the characteristics of current Pillar 2
supports—namely they are paid on a multi-annual (say five
or seven year) contractual basis—they would have the capacity
to offer greater certainty, stability and more simplicity for
both farmers and government.
Future payments must consider a new approach
to calculating income foregone. An alternative approach based
on opportunity cost could see farmers paid income based on the
best alternative occupation away from hill farming.
Value-added products
There is a constant need to encourage and help
upland farming strive for high-quality, regionally and locally
distinct breeds and products and to develop new routes to market
which shorten the food chain and seek to get more value-added
back to the primary producer. The means to do this are through
assistance in the CAP Pillar 2 Axis 1 for raising quality, and
encouraging producer and marketing groups. Demonstration projects
and dissemination of best practice are also important components.
New (Environmental) Markets
Climate and water regulation are two areas that
offer the greatest prospect of encouraging private finance into
upland areas and would help to reduce the dependence on public
supports.
If a company decides to purchase credits from
carbon reduction projects to count towards their voluntary corporate
targets the projects should be accredited by the Government's
Quality Assurance Scheme. This only allows for carbon credits
that are generated from projects occurring in countries that do
not have mandatory emission reduction targets and effectively
acts as a regulatory barrier to the UK market place. However,
if companies could finance carbon reduction projects in the UK
without the need to take ownership of a tradable carbon credit
they would be encouraged to invest in peatland restoration projects,
if they were confident that they will deliver quantifiable greenhouse
gas benefits. Such an approach would need to make clear that companies
will not earn tradable carbon credits from their investment.
Forestry
Several bodies have called for afforestation
of upland areas and this could deliver important (if different)
ecosystem services. But forestry's potential will only be realised
if suitable incentives through agri-environment schemes or through
private markets for renewable heat or material substitution can
be realised. Owners must be allowed and encouraged to grow high
value material that the market wants.
PLANNING
The single biggest issue stifling upland communities
relates to planning policies that are too restrictive, bureaucratic
and prevent necessary development.
There are three specific areas where planning
policy has failed:
1. Farm diversification and rural economic development
proposals.
Given the attractiveness of the uplands for
second/holiday homes, there is a shortage of affordable rural
housing both for young and retiring people. This should be addressed
by:
— The building of retirement dwellings
on farms for retiring farmers.
— Meeting local housing needs to be close
to the origin of that need through the organic, incremental growth
of villages and settlements. This may include applying flexibility
to the village envelope where this is necessary to sustain a particular
rural community.
— Encouraging landowners to fund, build
and manage affordable rural housing.
— Fostering "mixed communities".
— Removing the prohibition of the use of
cross-subsidy on rural exception sites to assist the leveraging
in additional funding for affordable rural housing.
— Fiscal incentives for affordable rural
housing.
— Prevention of vexatious village green
applications.
— Conversion of redundant traditional farm
buildings to new uses including residential.
3. Renewable energy
The uplands can provide renewable energy because
of the prevalence of wind, water and biomass. Finance from national
schemes such as the Feed In Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive
are necessary to facilitate this. It is only inappropriate planning
and environmental regulation that is holding the sector back.
IMPROVING RURAL
SERVICES
Uplands areas need high speed broadband, as
much, if not more than other areas.
This can be achieved by:
— Legislation to introduce a Universal
Service Obligation of at least 2Mb/ps.
— A framework that allows rural business
to piggy-back the public sector broadband infrastructure.
— OFCOM creating a legal framework, in
agreement with mobile phone service operators, to ensure universal
coverage.
— 3G technology to provide effective mobile
telephony.
— A UK wide system of community broadband
grants using part of the digital switchover under-spend.
— A Rural Broadband Partnership, including
Government and the industry to aggregate demand and help inform
the public as to the importance of superfast broadband to the
economy and society.
October 2010
1 The Food and Environmental Research Agency and Newcastle
University. (July 2010). Estimating the Wildlife and Landscape
Benefits of Environmental Stewardship. Back
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