SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION WEIGH IN

"strawberries grown without regard to the environment, in acres of plastic polytunnels, and too often picked by migrants working under less than desirable conditions, is not what we want more of.”

The planning application by Hugh Lowe Farms represents issues that extend beyond the purely local. In a changing global climate and economy, questions arise around methods of food production and distribution. In order to address some of these concerns the Sustainable Development Commission(SDC) have just published a paper which identifies a number of trends relating to food security. The report quotes DEFRA Horticultural Statistics 2008 which show that between 1997 and 2007 the total vegetable production in the UK fell by 24%, orchard fruit fell by 19% but 'glasshouse fruit"(which includes polytunnel production) rose by a staggering 224%.

Clearly traditional crops of everyday fruit and vegetables are being displaced by the more lucrative soft fruits resulting in massive polytunnel operations of the type proposed by Hugh Lowe Farms.

SDC commissioner Professor Tim Lang said there was an endemic problem with the food industry’s structure: He is quoted in the Fresh Produce Journal as saying:

“In recent years, governments have relied on big food retailers to deliver low prices in the name of a ‘cheap food policy’. Rocketing food prices last year have shown how volatile this system is...

“Growing more of the strawberries we consume in the UK is fine, but strawberries grown without regard to the environment, in acres of plastic polytunnels, and too often picked by migrants working under less than desirable conditions, is not what we want more of.”

The full SDC report is here

SENIOR KCC ARCHEOLOGICAL OFFICER RAISES CONCERNS

'more polytunnels could have a significant impact'

A senior KCC Archeological officer has responded to a request from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council planners for comments on the H|LF application. She has pointed out that 'the environs of the extensive application site is one rich in heritage' and that 'these historic villages are set within a landscape which still reflects locally distinctive, possibly medieval but certainly post medieval, character' she then goes on to say that there is 'insufficient assessment of views from the historic elements.'

The letter raises a numbet of concerns including the proposal for taller windbreaks and trees to screen the polytunnels pointing out that this could also block important views and change the appearance of the landscape.

The Officer clearly finds the planning application to be inadequate, stating that there is an 'insufficient assessment of views from the historic elements, particularly the parklands' and concludes with the comment:

I therefore recommend that prior to determination of this application, there needs to be a specialist assessment of the historic environment.There needs to be clear consideration of the historic attributes of this area,

The full letter is here

COUNCIL RESPONSE

'application is invalid from a legal point of view'

On 5 June Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council sent a 'letter of direction' to Hugh Lowe farms asking for a considerable amount of extra information to address serious shortcomings in the application. It runs to six pages and points out that currently the application is invalid from a legal point of view because the boundaries have been incorrectly drawn. It goes on to ask for a definition of 'successional tunnels' and their degree of permanence, it asks for a business case to be supplied, a landscape assessment, flood risk assesment and water management plan, waste management plan, proposals to reduce the impact on residential amenity amongst other things. It says;

'I hope you realise that this information is necessary to provide if the council is to be able to fully and properly assess this geographically extensive, technically complex and controversial proposal.

This letter is therefore issued as a direction requiring further information under Regulation 4 of the Town and Country Planning(Application) Regulations 1988'

The fact that the letter is six pages long clearly demonstrates the substantial inadequacies of the original planning application, being a letter of direction means that if the information asked for is not forthcoming the application will not be considered. It is astonishing that a modern, dynamic business with an annual turnover of £8m should get a planning application so wrong.

The letter is in the public domain on the TMBC website, find it here.

TUNNELS – THE POLY-TICS

Application ‘could have been written on back of a fag packet’  says county councillor.

On 22 May councillors clashed at a meeting called by 'Landscape Matters' in West Peckham. Representatives from KCC, Tonbridge and Malling and a number of parish councils joined local residents to hear how the campaign to control polytunnels was progressing.

Conservative borough councillors Jill Anderson and Matthew Balfour from Tonbridge and Malling faced criticism that their planning department had registered an application for polytunnels that was inadequate and shoddy.  Cllr Trudy Dean, the leader of the KCC Liberal group commented that it ‘could have been written on the back of a fag packet’ and that T&MBC planners should have refused to register the application involving a total of 1315 acres of farmland over six parishes. Mark Freed, Chair of West Peckham Parish Council, pointed out a number of serious shortcomings in the plans by Hugh Lowe farms of Mereworth for what he claimed would be the biggest polytunnel operation so far in the UK. He questioned why T&MBC had agreed to register the plans in spite of the lack of a proper Landscape Impact Assessment, Flood Risk Assessment, Waste Management Plan or Ecological Survey.

There was further criticism of local Borough Councillor Jill Anderson with claims that she had attempted to avoid meeting with the Parish Council to discuss the matter. Cllr Anderson defended herself by explaining that she had felt unable to do so for fear of compromising her position under the local councillor’s code of conduct. This claim was hotly refuted by Liz Simpson the Liberal Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Tonbridge & Malling. Cllr Trudy Dean agreed, declaring that it was ‘absolute rubbish’ to suggest that Cllr Anderson shouldn’t ask questions about the issues, adding that she had a duty to her electorate to do so.

Mark Freed pointed out that Herefordshire County Council has prepared supplementary planning guidance for polytunnels and called on KCC to do the same. Richard Long, Conservative KCC Councillor for Malling Rural East replied that the County Council could not get involved as planning was delegated to the districts. This was again refuted by Cllr Trudy Dean who said that although it was true that planning decisions were made at district level the KCC could nevertheless exercise some input and leadership via the Kent Planning Officers Group.

Interest in the planning application is growing at both a local and national level as the acreage under plastic continues to increase, not just in Kent but across the UK. Cllr Balfour remarked that there wouldn’t be a council planning officer in the country who wasn’t taking an interest in what is happening here.

KENT ON SUNDAY

Kent on Sunday ran the story on 26 April. Once again Marion Regan is quoted as saying:

“This planning application is to recognise what we are already doing at the farm. It’s unclear whether or not we need permission for the polytunnels, but we have taken it upon ourselves to apply."

This is clearly at odds to a letter received by a local resident last year from Tonbridge & Malling Council which says

"a retrospective application for the retention of the tunnels will be invited"

The planning application has therefore been supplied at the request of Tonbridge & Malling Council and not as an unsolicited gesture by Hugh Lowe Farms. The council would have no reason, or right, to invite an application if there was no requiremnt to do so. Following a High Court decision on another application in 2006, the Government's Chief Planning Officer stated that in future all large scale operations would need planning permission.

In addition the farm as yet does not have 40% of it's tunnels as permanent structures which is what the application asks for, this is something new and not an existing practice.

Full story here

KENT MESSENGER FRONT PAGE

The story hit the front page of the Kent Messenger on 24 April. Marion Regan of Hugh Lowe farms is quoted

"This is an existing business and we are not proposing a massive change"

Full story here

THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY CAUTION HLF

The Environment Agency have recently written to Hugh Lowe farms to point out that they have been:

" investigating that significant quantities of windblown plastic debris have been escaping from fields owned or farmed by Hugh Lowe Farms Ltd. One of my officers inspected several of your fields, adjacent hedgerows and roads noting significant amounts of plastic in these areas. Whilst undertaking this inspection he also saw plastic being blown from the fields. Stockpiled growing/ weighted bags were also noted degrading in the field margins"

They inform HLF that Under Section 34 (1) (b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it is the duty of any person who produces controlled waste to prevent the escape of waste from his control or that of any other person. They have asked HLF to submit a plan to deal with the issue but warn that

"you should be aware that if a satisfactory proposal is not submitted, or the proposal is not followed to our satisfaction, we would have to consider whether to take enforcement action against you for these offences."

Their full letter is HERE

THE GREEN PARTY OBJECTS

On the 16th April the Kent Green Party lodged a detailed objection to the Hugh Lowe Farms planning application. They identify issues around waste management and control, the lack of a Flood Risk Assessment, Landscape Impact Assessment and ecological survey amongst others. They go on to say:

The size of this application is considerable. The area of polytunnels proposed at any one time is 430 acres - approximately a third of the site. The total area of polytunnels in the whole of Herefordshire for 2005 was 420 acres. The proposal therefore seems to be oversized and intrusive.

Their full objection document is here

THE LIBERALS WEIGH IN

Writing on their website on the 8th April the Leader of the Liberal Party on Kent County Council has called on KCC to produce planning guidelines for polytunnels in response to the application by Hugh Lowe Farms. Cllr Trudy Dean who is the KCC member for Malling central explained that she had seen in other countries the result of shreds of plastic from polytunnels turning the countryside into a rubbish tip. In her April newsletter she says:

"Planning authorities would need to be vigilant about the disposal of waste materials. The application from Hugh Lowe Farms so far does not address this problem."

"We must have guidelines urgently about how many polytunels are acceptable within the landscape, how they should be screened, who gets rid of waste and whether permanent polytunnels using growbags on tables need to be in the countryside at all."

Full article here

KENT AND SUSSEX COURIER - PADDOCK WOOD

On Friday 10 April, the Paddock Wood Courier reported "FARMER PUZZLED BY FURY OVER POLYTUNNEL PLANS'

Hugh Lowe farms owner Marion Regan said " We're not asking for anything new. I mean we're in the Garden of England. We're quite surprised this level of vehement opposition has sprouted up, but we are taking their views very seriously and listening to what they say"

Full story here

KENT AND SUSSEX COURIER - TONBRIDGE

The Tonbridge edition carried a story about the application in their Friday 10 April edition which picked up on the CPRE objection.

"The Countryside of Hadlow could soon be transformed if planning permission is granted for a giant polytunnel operation spanning six parishes. Campaigners have spoken out against Hugh Lowe Farms, of Mereworth's, application for the 1,315-acre strawberry-growing site, which would feature 430 acres covered by plastic sheeting at any one time."

Full story here

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE PROTECTION OF RURAL ENGLAND OBJECTS

The Tonbridge and Malling District Committee hosted an information day at Haldow College on the 4 April during which the issues raised by large scale polytunnel operations were the subject of one of the presentations. The application by Hugh Lowe Farms was used as a local example of some of the problems that need to be addressed by growers using this technology.

During the previous week the CPRE formally submitted it's objections to the application by HLF which included a number of issues including the adverse impact on residential amenity, the landscape and conservation areas, the absence of waste management plans anda formal flood risk assesment.

Their full objection document is here

BBC RADIO KENT

The application by Hugh Lowe farms was featured on BBC Radio Kent's Breakfast show on Thursday 5 March.

The Chair of West Peckham Parish Council, Mark Freed, explained why they had recommended to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council that they reject the application. Later in programme Marion Regan of Hugh Lowe Farms claimed that she is merely regularising in planning their existing growing operation:

‘This is not an application for something new, we are asking Tonbridge and Malling to recognise an existing practice on the farm…’

It may be existing but it is still only a recent development. Over the last few years there has been a steady increase in the number of polytunnels left up permanently. One particular field in West Peckham has had polytunnels in place for at least nine years in contravention of planning and is now classified as an unauthorised development. She also claimed that they practice a rotational system

‘We work by fields, one field will be in strawberries for two or three years then it will come out and we’ll put it in to an arable crop to rest the land and get it’s fertility levels back. Then we go back in with another strawberry or raspberry crop and that’s what we’ve done for over a hundred years’

This may have been true in her grandfather’s day but the truth is that HLF is now moving to a system of permanent polytunnels which will be in place all year round. According to the figures in her planning application, by 2010 there will be a total of 68 Ha of ‘successional’ or permanent tunnels out of a total tunnel area of 174.08 Ha. This means that 39% of the polytunnels will be permanent and not in a rotational system.

Speaking at a recent public meeting Mrs Regan stated that HLF were looking to begin a table top operation in which strawberries are grown in bags on trestles inside permanent tunnels. This means that if her application is successful, almost half of her polytunnels could eventually contain unsightly metal frameworks and irrigation equipment all year round and on a permanent basis.

It is fortunate that large scale polytunnel operations have recently been brought into the planning process so for the first time local residents and other interested parties have a democratic right to make public their growing concerns. Hugh Lowe Farms are embarking on a process of wholesale agricultural industrialisation which will have a profound impact on the countryside in this corner of the Garden of England.