Agenda item

Motion submitted by Councillor Taylor in respect of sustainability of farming and horticulture in Fenland.

Councillor Taylor presented his motion regarding the sustainability of farming and horticulture in Fenland.

Councillor Foice-Beard seconded the motion and members made the following comments:

·         Councillor Tierney stated that he supports this, he does not normally like motions that begin with writing to the Secretary of State because he does not think they care what members say, regardless of which party is in power, but he likes anything that supports farmers. He feels it is important that the Council is clear it supports agriculture and farmers in every respect because they need to hear that people support them at the moment.

·         Councillor Summers referred to vagueness of motions already being mentioned today and for him this motion is too vague, it fails to clarify what the perceived obstacles to it are in any material sense and it fails to provide the solutions to those obstacles. He added that he loves a farm shop and supports them but, in his view, there needs to be regulation around how they appear and that is why he does not support this motion.

·         Councillor Mrs Laws stated that she will support this motion without question, she made the point that there is a huge amount of regulation around farm shops and they have to go through proper planning procedure as with any development and there is no fast tracking of farm shops because if it was fast tracked then a residential development should be fast tracked. She made the point that farm shops are also regulated by Environmental Health and there has to be consideration given to highways, the location of the property, easy access and traffic movement, which is really no different to how a planning application for housing development or other structures would be handled. Councillor Mrs Laws stated that as the emerging Local Plan is being developed the Council wants to support business coming into Fenland and look to enhance and improve the agricultural system.

·         Councillor Nawaz expressed surprise that farmers are not already able to have their own shops as you can open up a corner shop with 5 minutes notice and sell alcohol and unhealthy food and why are farm shops with healthy foodstuff not allowed, especially when the farmers are hard squeezed by big retailers and now with the inheritance tax on top. He feels the Council should try to facilitate the farmers and not put any obstructions in their way, although he acknowledges there are rules and regulations that govern the setting up of farm shops. Councillor Nawaz stated that he fully supports the motion and in this area which is predominantly rural with lots of farms members are supposed to be representing everybody’s interests.

·         Councillor Barber stated that she fully supports this motion and wonders how there are little stalls on the side of the road selling strawberries in Summer for example and she is sure they do not have planning permission. She feels that members should support the farmers in whatever they do, as will be seen in the next motion also, because they are suffering at the moment and Fenland is a farming community.

·         Councillor Clark expressed the opinion that he not sure if this motion is over promising and under delivering and takes note of the Planning Portfolio Holder who is informing members that this is all going to come under the National Planning Policy Framework and a planning application will have to go through the normal process and this Council cannot make any decisions to circumnavigate this. He stated that he can support the motion but the Council cannot over promise and under deliver.

·         Councillor Hicks agreed with the comments of Councillor Clark, whatever members do on this motion it is not going to make a difference to decision making because of the National Planning Policy Framework so, in his view, it is a bit of a pointless motion.

·         Councillor Hoy referred to the comments of Councillor Nawaz on corner shops and thinks he was speaking figuratively as to open a corner shop is really easy, however, if you are a farmer and you want to open a farm shop and sell your goods it is difficult and you do have to go through these barriers, with their being more of a focus on healthy eating and people living longer, with easy mechanisms not being in place. She further referred to the point about it being a pointless motion and agreed that the letter writing is annoying and she does not think this letter will ‘change the world’, it will probably go on the Minister’s desk and be ignored or maybe a stock written response will be provided, however, members have to try and make an effort sometimes as nothing will change.

·         Councillor Patrick questioned how many farm shop applications there has been within Fenland and how many have been accepted or rejected.

·         Councillor Imafidon expressed the view that farmers have been squeezed enough and are facing enough restrictions. He does agree that planning rules have to be followed but particularly in the current climate, with the protests across the country, farmers are struggling and being forced to sell their land to solar panel farms so anything that can be undertaken to support farmers he is in favour of.

Councillor Taylor in summing up thanked members for supporting the motion, he agreed that the industry is in dire trouble at the moment but it will survive, farmers are going to fight, there is a lot of fight in them and they will not be backing down for anything, with the industry here to stay. He stated that the new app is up and live as from last night where people can find out their local suppliers or local farms prepared to sell direct to the public so the planning applications for farm shops is just another step.

The motion was approved.