CPRE Herefordshire Annual Report October 2012

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From field to fork: LEDBURY The value of England’s food webs In February 2012, CPRE published its Report presenting findings and recommendations from a five-year national project – Mapping Local Food Webs – to engage local volunteers across England to research their local food ‘webs’: the network of links between people who buy, sell, produce and supply food sourced locally. Ledbury was one of 19 locations across England to be mapped. Its findings were... Choice, availability and access to local food are good with 25 food outlets selling local food; for the majority, local food sales represent a quarter or more of turnover Local shops are servicing public demand for fresh, high quality food, supported by short supply chains Many shops and suppliers contribute to community life by donating to local good causes and offer a friendly, personal service Local food supports, we estimate, 200 jobs at outlets and over 480 at local suppliers Local food sales in Ledbury are an estimated £1.5 million to £2.7 million a year and help to support £29.5 million of turnover at supply chain businesses A minimum of 95 local producers within 30 miles supply food directly to outlets we interviewed in Ledbury, reducing food miles and related pollution Ledbury maintains its market town heritage and has a thriving High Street with a good range of independent shops Residents, visitors and tourists recognise the good availability of local food in the town Local food supports diversity in farming, which shapes and maintains the character of the local countryside. A number of challenges need to be faced to develop Ledbury’s local food web: • sourcing sufficient volume remains a problem for small outlets as suppliers prioritise bigger buyers • communication between outlets and suppliers needs • facilitation as businesses lack the time to find new suppliers or markets • Ledbury’s shoppers value smaller outlets for extra shopping but these outlets need to find ways to compete with the convenience of supermarkets, which attract most shoppers for their main shopping • environmental benefits of local food remain largely unrecognised The Report included a recommendation that Herefordshire Council’s new Local Plan policies should reflect the aims and objectives of the Herefordshire Food Strategy and also strengthen existing protection for strong town centres and a diverse retail mix. This could safeguard essential local food outlets, which broaden choice and serve the townspeople’s everyday food needs. Policies should also reinvigorate Ledbury’s status as a traditional market town by supporting proposals for a new Farmers’ Market. Additionally, procurement policy should be geared to developing a stronger, sustainable supply chain by creating opportunities for smaller local producers to tender for contracts. These measures could also serve to develop Ledbury’s relationship with its rural hinterland through its food supply. Local businesses and the community can also strengthen the local Food Web by ensuring the actions suggested in the Herefordshire Food Strategy are supported and carried out. Businesses could promote local produce better by developing a ‘local to Ledbury’ brand, promoting the town as a local food location and emphasising links to sustainable agriculture and management of local countryside, including the iconic landscapes of the AONBs (Malvern Hills and Wye Valley) and the Brecon Beacons National Park. 10
Our planning watchdogs! Members of the Planning Local Network Area (PLAN) team have continued their hard work this year, responding to a number of planning applications from planning lists and others that have been drawn to their attention by concerned local residents – some of whom were already members of HCPRE and others who have since joined us. Can you help? If you feel you would like to help or could support one of our existing volunteers – please contact Barbara Bromhead-Wragg at admin@cpreherefordshire.co.uk At the beginning of the year, team members and other HCPRE volunteers attended a meeting with senior planning officers from Herefordshire Council, to discuss the Local Development Framework (LDF) which replaces the “increasingly out of date Unitary Development Plan” (UDP) County plan of 2007 in the face of the then to be published National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The NPPF was to cover any local authority areas that had no current plan in place and HCPRE had concerns over what this could mean for the county’s landscape. We learned that the final consultation for Herefordshire Council’s Core Strategy (CS), the first tier of the Local Plan, was to be held in Spring 2013 and the CS should be adopted in Spring 2014. Until that adoption, the UDP would remain in use when considering most planning applications. Volunteers have monitored the situation since the NPPF was published in March 2012 and the UDP still remains the reference point for considering planning applications in the county. However, the NPPF does have an effect upon housing allocation for the county. The NPPF states that local authorities should provide five years’ worth of housing land, which the UDP does not provide. This was addressed at a recent Cabinet meeting (July 2012) wherein Herefordshire Council devised an interim approach to pre-planning advice and in considering applications. This approach in effect means that we are likely to see applications for housing in areas that would not previously have been allowed, for example development outside of settlement boundaries. Each of these applications will have to be decided by the Planning Committee, as they would be inconsistent with the UDP. Most recently the team have contributed to the Branch response to a new Government consultation on the re-use of agricultural buildings vis a vis the need for planning permissions. Herefordshire is rich in old agricultural buildings, many of which are poorly sited for commercial use due to potential traffic issues. There are other considerations, such as how a local authority conservation officer might be involved if a building were of historic or aesthetic interest. Equally, we wonder how disturbance to wildlife, i.e. bats, would be prevented if no planning permissions were required. It is appreciated that a sympathetic conversion, suitably screened within the landscape, which allows those with a good business case to live on the land that they work, is an ideal. However, if piecemeal developments throughout the countryside are allowed, without the checks and balances provided by the planning system, the result could be the further erosion of the county’s spectacular countryside. We said goodbye to two volunteers this year. Thanks to David and Ann for their hard work and we wish them both well. This means that we have a smaller group of volunteers to respond to planning applications across the county. The remaining 3 volunteers are dedicated and hardworking; one covers the Ledbury area and surrounding district, with the remaining two team members working hard to split the remainder of the county between them. We urgently need new volunteers, whether as support, in checking the weekly lists and identifying potential problems, or as PLAN team members for one of the county’s vacancies. Please consider if you could spare us an hour a week to help in your area – expenses are remunerated and full training and support is provided. If you are interested please email us: admin@cpreherefordshire.org.uk The team members work from home, staying in touch with fellow volunteers via telephone and email. We have a minimum of two PLAN team meetings per year and receive support from the Branch Executive Committee, which receives a planning report at each monthly meeting. 11
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 6 OCTOBER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
Page 3 and 4: NPPF AT A GLANCE... GREEN Improved/
Page 5 and 6: A CASE STUDY HCPRE recently challen
Page 7 and 8: tranquillity in beautiful landscape
Page 9: CHAIRMAN’S REPORT N THE LAST YEAR

CPRE Herefordshire Annual Report October 2012

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