PEM/MUI Research Seminar: Agriculture and planning control - do we need a new approach?
Dates: | 26 April 2023 |
Times: | 12:00 - 13:30 |
What is it: | Short course |
Organiser: | School of Environment, Education and Development |
Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults |
Speaker: | Professor John Sturaker |
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You are kindly invited to our next PEM/MUI Research Seminar taking place on Wednesday, April 26, 12:00pm - 1:30pm at the HBS 1.69/1.70.
We will be joined by Professor John Sturaker, Ebenezer Howard Chair of Planning, University of Hertfordshire.
John's presentation is entitled "Agriculture and planning control - do we need a new approach?". His talk will draw on
recent research which identified the scope for rural areas to play a leading role in so-called “just transitions” to new ways of living and working, and called for an integrative and integrated approach to planning rural land use. Abstract below.
You can attend the seminar in person at the HBS, 1.69/1.70 or virtually via Teams. Please contact felix.agyemang@manchester.ac.uk for the Teams link.
Lunch will be served!
Abstract
Most agricultural activity is currently beyond the control of the planning system in England, unlike in urban areas where changes of use of land or buildings usually require planning permission. This is due to the origins of the system in the years immediately following the Second World War, when increasing agricultural output was a key priority. This installed a firm and rigid urban-rural divide – the countryside was for agriculture and, where it did not impinge on farming, recreation; towns and cities were for living and working. Needless to say, the context today is very different. There are now multiple pressures on rural areas, including the need to adapt to climate change through providing flood protection; mitigate climate change through renewable energy generation and biomass production; the management of urban waste; ever greater demand for housing and associated infrastructure. At the same time, farming practices are changing, with concepts such as regenerative agriculture suggesting a different way of doing things.
Despite these different pressures and changes, the approach to planning in England, and the wider UK, remains much as it has been for the last 75 years. Rural and urban are treated, conceptually and practically, entirely differently; and the “silos” of central and local government mean that there is no holistic way to consider and manage the competing demands on rural land. This seminar will draw on recent research which identified the scope for rural areas to play a leading role in so-called “just transitions” to new ways of living and working, and called for an integrative and integrated approach to planning rural land use.
Speaker
Professor John Sturaker
Role: Ebenezer Howard Chair of Planning
Organisation: University of Hertfordhsire
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
1.69/1.70
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester