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Planning Seminar at the WEC

 
The Question of 
Affordable Rural Housing

Over 60 people participated in the Architecture Week seminar ‘Planning for Sustainable Woodlands’ held at the Woodland Enterprise Centre, bringing together speakers with expertise and experience in planning law and rural development. A key issue addressed during the seminar was creating affordable housing for those with the skills to maintain our rural landscapes close to their workplace, especially relevant to coppice workers, woodland managers and foresters.                                

Simon Fairlie (This Land is Ours - Chapter 7) provided an overview of the current rural planning position relating to people seeking to be accommodated in their working woodlands and brought up to date the policy precedents that have been established in recent years. 

Simon Fairlie, This Land is Ours, Chapter 7, speaking at the Planning for Sustainable Woodlands Seminar, held at the Woodland Enterprise Centre, June 2005

Trevor Cherrett (Head of Planning, Housing & Transport for the Commission for Rural Communities) talked of planners’ short-sighted obsession with cramming developments into existing towns and how their rigid approach to countryside protection blocks sensitive and flexible development of affordable housing in rural locations. A ‘Deep Green Model’, connecting people to the land, was suggested, whilst asking ‘If you are going to live here, what are you going to contribute to the land in terms of local economy, jobs, conservation, etc?’. 

Ben Law shared his experience of planners drawn from 14 years living in his working woodland (from yurt to timber-frame house). He highlighted the negative approach taken by his local planners who started with a ‘Planning Enforcement Notice’, rather than a constructive dialogue about planning permission. Ben discussed the planning definition of ‘essential need’ which currently does not include forestry, suggesting that ‘woodsmanship’ in its own right should be categorised as an ‘essential need’ and therefore justify living in woodland. Ben was not alone in calling for new robust laws to govern the ‘tying’ of houses to land for woodland workers. 

Bob Saunders, currently working with architect Steve Johnson (Architectural Ensemble) on a low impact development of a rural woodland site, talked of the short-sighted approach by planners when blocking the responsible stewardship of woodlands by refusing to allow tied development. 

There followed a lively Question and Answer session. The speakers were joined by Planners from Rother and Wealden Councils to provide their perspective of the debate from the “sharp end”. 

General conclusion: further planning events should be programmed to provide a forum for constructive exchanges between Planners and “the Planned” to enhance the development of planning law to best support the future maintenance of our rural landscape and industries.

Planning for Sustainable Woodlands was hosted by the TimberBuild Network SE in conjunction with Weald WoodNet as part of Architecture Week 2005 .