Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
Vale of Glamorgan Council

Reference to horticulture and farm diversification employment is needed.

We are pleased to see the Council recognises the importance of supporting a vibrant living countryside in policy EMP3 - development in the countryside , providing for local employment, supporting farming and rural businesses, enabling the provision of affordable housing to meet local needs and accommodating uses that cannot be located within a defined settlement. We would like to see more reference to the need to feed ourselves from the land we have here in Wales. Policy SP5 subsequent text and Policy EMP6 should encourage farm diversification proposals that are in line with the Sustainable Farming Scheme (there will be lots of diversification away from the traditional ways of farming and the SFS encourages this) and supports farmers to farm in a way that allows nature and biodiversity to thrive. Smaller scale farming units will become more common place and the scepticism around these businesses needs to diminish because they produce a lot more food and employment per sq. metre than what, might be considered traditional/ successful, forms of farming in Wales. This article demonstrates how sheep farming is declining in the UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrzd72wp5zo
Therefore, the potential of horticulture to be a big employer of people in the countryside should be acknowledged under Policy EMP6. It is not just about 'B' uses in the countryside. Farm diversification and less traditional methods of farming will employ many people over the plan period and these uses should form a centre piece of this policy.