For many Lincolnshire farmers, the key question is not simply whether the holding is productive agricultural land today. The more important issue is whether a particular field, paddock, yard or group of parcels could have realistic planning potential, especially where the land adjoins an existing settlement, fronts an adopted road, sits close to services or forms part of an area being considered for future growth.
Lincolnshire does not have a single Local Plan or planning authority. Farms across Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are influenced by different Local Plan stages, settlement patterns, countryside policy, coastal change, flood risk and drainage. The Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape, the Fens, the Wash and the Humber Estuary, ports and energy infrastructure, high-grade agricultural land and the A1, A15, A16, A17 and A46 corridors create distinct planning contexts. Land near Lincoln, Boston, Grantham, Spalding, Sleaford, Stamford, Gainsborough, Louth, Skegness, Scunthorpe, Grimsby and larger settlements therefore requires a location-specific planning strategy.
Planning prospects can depend on the farm's relationship with a settlement boundary, highway access, policy status, housing and employment need, coastal change, drainage, countryside policy, landscape character, heritage, ecology, flood risk, utilities and whether the site can be shown to be suitable, available and achievable. Two neighbouring fields can therefore have very different planning profiles.
Value My Land helps farmers take an informed view before spending money on speculative applications or technical surveys. We review the relevant planning authority, current policy position, nearby growth locations, access and constraints before recommending whether the land should be promoted through a Local Plan, submitted through a Call for Sites, considered for a planning application, retained as longer-term strategic land or left in agricultural use for the time being.