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World Heritage Sites: Agricultural Buildings
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether putting up agricultural buildings within World Heritage Sites requires planning permission.[HL2222]
Baroness Hayman: Planning permission is required for all development, although in England permission is granted by the General Permitted Development Order for certain types of development, including some agricultural buildings. This means that a planning application is not required in such cases although certain details may be the subject of a prior approval application to the local planning authority (LPA). In addition LPAs may remove these permitted development rights by means of a direction under Article 4 of the Order. The Government's Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, Planning and the Historic Environment, advises that inclusion of a site on the World Heritage list is a key material consideration to be taken into account by local planning authorities in determining planning applications. Changes to such sites may also require listed building, scheduled monument or conservation area consent. World Heritage Sites in the rest of the United Kingdom are in developed areas or not in use for agriculture.
Access to the Open Countryside in England and Wales: Consultation Paper
Baroness Anelay of St. Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, for the purposes of the proposals in Access to the Open Countryside (February 1998), they will exclude mossland which can be horticulturalised.[HL2217]
Baroness Hayman: We will consider the precise types of land to which any new right of access would apply in the light of responses to the consultation paper, Access to the Open Countryside in England & Wales.
Baroness Anelay of St. Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How they plan to ensure that farmers will be able to guarantee that their crops are disease-free and that they meet the standards required by food retailers if greater numbers of the public and their dogs are allowed access to farming land under the proposals in Access to the Open Countryside (February 1998); and[HL2214]
How they will guarantee farmers that agricultural land will not be damaged by the increased access proposed in Access to the Open Countryside (February 1998).[HL2218]
Baroness Hayman: The Government's proposals set out in our consultation paper Access to the Open Countryside in England & Wales specifically exclude agricultural land other than that used for extensive grazing. Our proposals would not, therefore, affect land on which crops are growing. Experience of permitting access to land used for extensive grazing suggests that access is compatible with such use.
Baroness Anelay of St. Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How they will guarantee the safety of walkers when they are given greater access to land on which animals are grazing as a result of the proposals in Access to the Open Countryside (February 1998).[HL2215]
Baroness Hayman: The Government's proposals reflect our view that walkers should bear the primary responsibility for their own safety on affected land. The proposals exclude agricultural land other than that used for extensive grazing. A significant amount of public access already takes place uneventfully on such land. We would expect the proposed codes of practice for walkers, produced by the Countryside Commission and Countryside Council for Wales, to include any necessary guidance on safety.
Baroness Anelay of St. Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How, for the purposes of the proposals in Access to the Open Countryside (February 1998), they will define open downland as opposed to permanent pasture.[HL2216]
Baroness Hayman: The Government have asked the Countryside Commission and the Countryside Council for Wales to make recommendations on the identification of land to which a new right of access might apply, and to provide appropriate advice on its definition.
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