Economic Development in the Countryside

The guiding principle for policies and proposals for economic development in the countryside is to facilitate proposals likely to benefit the rural economy and support rural communities, while protecting or enhancing rural character and the environment, consistent with strategic policy elsewhere in the SPPS. Farm diversification, the re-use of rural buildings and appropriate redevelopment and expansion proposals for industrial and business purposes will normally offer the greatest scope for sustainable economic development in the countryside. Such proposals may occasionally involve the construction of new buildings, where they can be integrated in a satisfactory manner. In the interests of rural amenity and wider sustainability objectives, the level of new building for economic development purposes outside settlements must however be restricted. Exceptions to this general principle may be justified in the following circumstances: • A small scale new build economic development project may be permissible outside a village or small settlement where there is no suitable site within the settlement. An edge of settlement location will be favoured over a location elsewhere in the rural area, subject to normal planning considerations. • A proposal for major or regionally significant economic development, where a countryside location is necessary because of size or site specific requirements. Such proposals should be able to demonstrate a significant contribution to the regional economy and be otherwise acceptable, particularly in terms of their