There is a well-hidden plot to turn English national parks into suburbs. There is a clause in some virtually unnoticed document that could lead to barns and buildings throughout the countryside being converted into houses.
In a boring consultation paper titled “Greater Flexibility for Change of Use,” the plan is apparently close to being implemented by Whitehall. And it represents a massive threat to the National Park and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of the country. The new proposals will benefit few except the wealthy who can afford very expensive houses and developers and the occasional lucky landowner. When the government first proposed its controversial planning reforms, there were protests and the Telegraph newspaper ran a campaign in which David Cameron protested that he would never endanger the countryside.
On first reading, the scheme doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. It is the brainchild of planning minister Nick Boles and will simply allow redundant farm buildings to be replaced with up to three houses, either by renovating the old building or tearing it down and starting from scratch. This will not require any planning permission.
There are of course many disused barns and outbuildings and these offer untapped potential. A recent survey showed that farmers and landowners were supportive of the new scheme and one in four of them had at least one suitable building that they would consider converting under the plan.
The main problem is clearly the lack of need for planning. The purpose of planning is to ensure that new buildings fit into the environment, that housing is not built on, for example, existing floodplains, to ensure that new development does not mean that local infrastructure such as schools, doctors and roads , do not come under an undue burden.
And what about all those beautiful 18th and 19th century barns in the middle of the fields of the Yorkshire Dales, erected to store hay and winter cattle? These could simply be torn down and a group of houses built. There are around 4,500 barns like this, which could in theory be converted. And not only would the barns be modified, but roads and parking areas, power lines, water and sewage pipes would be installed. You would have suburbs springing up in the middle of the fields. There would be major alteration to the landscape and some of the UK’s most beautiful areas would face becoming new development areas. For example, the High Weald Area of National Beauty has over 3,500 historic farms and many old half-timbered buildings that could be considered redundant and therefore converted without planning.
All nine national parks associations in the UK have expressed deep concern about the proposals with the official National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty warning that large swathes of the countryside will be converted to residential areas and wildlife groups also warning that animals like bats and barn owls that depend on these buildings for their habitat will be in danger.
There are some restrictions. For example, farmers wishing to take advantage of the scheme and convert a redundant building must seek approval from local authorities, but this would only give local officials options to influence minor details in the design and not stop development.
Supporters of the scheme say it will provide much-needed affordable housing in the areas, and that this justifies the destruction of wildlife habitat. In reality, however, locals are unlikely to be able to afford the prices that this conversion will demand. Such barn conversions or new homes will fetch premium prices and will most likely be sold as second homes to wealthy buyers from outside the area.
The scheme will also undermine current policies that already exist to meet local needs, for example, in national parks, farmers can carry out discreet conversions of buildings to house family members and provide affordable local housing. The scheme has been fully condemned by the National Housing Federation.
The plan is scheduled to be approved by Parliament in the coming weeks, but there will now be a postponement debate so that the concerns can be looked into more fully. There is also concern that farmers will abandon farming and farming for real estate development, farm prices will skyrocket, preventing new people from entering farm jobs. Other recent planning schemes, such as allowing shops to be converted into houses, have been restricted from applying to protected areas. But at such a late stage in the consultation process, it will be necessary for the Prime Minister to step in and stop this potentially damaging legislation.