How many ha’s/acres per year are being taken out of production across the UK due to development etc etc?

[Pilatus]

I ask the above as many new schemes for farmers feature taking land out of agricultural production. So it has made me think how much good agricultural land is being taken away from farming “ for ever”, by house builders, industrial sites/ business parks, roads ,HS2 etc etc, per annum.I fear it might be quite frightening.

 

[tullah]

Better to take it out of production to house people than look after those newts

 

[farmerm]

I ask the above as many new schemes for farmers feature taking land out of agricultural production. So it has made me think how much good agricultural land is being taken away from farming “ for ever”, by house builders, industrial sites/ business parks, roads ,HS2 etc etc, per annum.I fear it might be quite frightening.

Well as I see it that just means there are more people and less availability of what our farm produces... price is driven by supply and demand..... so longer term chu ching chu ching

 

[bluebell]

i looked at this a few years ago, the figures are quite frightening? The UK. loses to development between 12,000-30,000 acres a year? The figures in the USA are even more stark? some 15,000 acres a day? these were official stats, so please correct me if im wrong?

 

[Granite Farmer]

I'd imagine it's not as much as one might think re development. IME benign neglect and agri to amenity take more out each year.

 

[bluebell]

So any one with half a brain , can see, that in the long term this cannot go on? the loss of available land to grow food on and rise in the UKs population makes for a perfect storm?

 

[nonemouse]

So any one with half a brain , can see, that in the long term this cannot go on? the loss of available land to grow food on and rise in the UKs population makes for a perfect storm?

Why?
In boris’s utopia we just ship it in from elsewhere.

 

[designanddetail]

If it is 30,000 acres that about 0.13% of the farmland (23million acres)

 

[David.]

On a drive round Leamington yesterday, you would be forgiven thinking that they were doubling the size of every town and village.
And for full disclosure, I won't pretend not to have history....
More concerning has to be the thousands of millions of rollover money across the country, just waiting for an "opportunity", and the devastating effect this has on traditional farming.

 

[bluebell]

if the total farmland stands at 23 million acres, what does that include? prime arable land, rough grazing, where is it? if we say with lost an average of 15,000 acres a year to development thats 1million ,125, 000 acres? since the end of the war, then the thousands of acres lost to either letting the sea claim good arable land? rewilding? talk of 30,000 acres a year planted to trees? does it matter? well to me it might not matter right now, but in the very near future, the loss of all this good food producing land will very well matter?

 

[teslacoils]

Not enough.

 

[bluebell]

the total area in acres of my county essex is just under a million acres, so to understand the loss of farmland, countryside to development since the war, its a bit bigger than the whole of essex?

 

[icanshootwell]

One thing to remember is, you don,t have to sell to developers, wasn't there a farmer down south somewhere that refused to sell his land to housing developer, the farm was surrounded by houses. Not sure if that,s still the case, he may have caved in, someone on here must know the farm.
Our village have been spoilt by very large houses that locals can,t afford, totally transformed the place, and not for the better, the developer grubbed out one field that had ancient orchard trees in it, no planning to do it, several months later got planning to build executive houses on it.
Imagine if a farmer had grubbed out trees and hedges without permission.

 

[britt]

60% of British farmland is permanent pasture, which is mostly hill coastal or low lying and not suited for building. Around here it's all arable (including temporary grass) that's disappearing under buildings. So the effect on food output is disproportionately larger by percentage.

 

[S J H]

If it is 30,000 acres that about 0.13% of the farmland (23million acres)

6% of the uk was built on, plus 2% for golf courses.

 

[DaveGrohl]

So any one with half a brain , can see, that in the long term this cannot go on? the loss of available land to grow food on and rise in the UKs population makes for a perfect storm?

You having a laff? Don’t need land, just get your food from the supermarket. Bloody farmers.

 

[MrNoo]

Solar is starting to take a fair bit out with some of these much larger sites being talked about but at least its not on Grade 1.

 

[toquark]

Solar is starting to take a fair bit out with some of these much larger sites being talked about but at least its not on Grade 1.

And can be turned back to ag production relatively easily if need be.

 

[britt]

Hundreds of acres have, or are to be, covered in solar panels around here, but this does tend to be sloping or poor draining ground as the access is not the primary factor for this use. It is often owned by non farmers looking for a better return than letting it out.
Huge distribution centres are the main land loss here because of the accessibility. If the land is in the right place it doesn't matter how good it is. Similar for house building.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Better to take it out of production to house people than look after those newts

but, when it is taken out of production for newts, it can be farmed again, when turned over to concrete it is really lost for ever.