For many Warwickshire 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.
Warwickshire does not have a single Local Plan or planning authority. Farms around Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa and Kenilworth are influenced by the South Warwickshire Local Plan and Green Belt considerations around the edges of Coventry and the wider West Midlands conurbation. Stratford-on-Avon District contains historic market towns, rural villages, sensitive landscapes and important economic influences around the M40 and Gaydon. Rugby, North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth each have different Local Plan stages, settlement patterns, infrastructure pressures and development opportunities.
Planning prospects can depend on the farm's relationship with a settlement boundary, highway access, policy status, housing and employment need, Green Belt or Grey Belt considerations, 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.