Environmental Impacts

Occupying nearly 80% of the countryside of Great Britain, agriculture exerts a major influence on the country's environment. Reciprocally, many infrastructure or built developments impact on agricultural practices.

Farming patterns exert a major influence on the habitats and landscape of the countryside

Environmental Impacts of Agriculture

Perceptions of what constitutes 'the environment' vary but the wildlife and countryside agencies consider the environment from seven different aspects. Each of these is impacted upon by agriculture. The five aspects are listed below, together with examples of how agriculture and environment interact.

Aspect of the Environment	Examples of Impacts
Biodiversity	Grazing (type and pressure) and cutting regimes can directly affect sward biodiversity
Natural Resources	Use of nitrate fertilisers and agrochemicals can pollute watercourses
Landscape	Land use decisions and cropping patterns can have a large visual impact (eg colourful flowering of oilseed rape/linseed, height of crops of coppice and maize)
Social, Cultural, Historic Heritage	Agricultural activity is the main reason for loss of or damage to archaeological artefacts
Recreation, Amenity, Human Well-being	Millions of people visit the countryside each year to enjoy the views and gain access for informal recreation
Quality Outputs	High quality outputs of food and fibre
Rural Economies	A healthy rural economy includes healthy agricultural businesses, and retention of the skills needed to maintain the environment

The adverse effects of agriculture have been the focus of much public debate of late. Emphasis has also been given to the amount farmers receive in public subsidy. Some argue that this gives the public a say in how the land should be managed. Understanding the relationship between how agricultural policy affects land management is fundamental to improving the environmental track record of agriculture. Attempts are underway to bring SSSIs in unfavourable condition into more favourable condition by changing the way land is managed – particularly sheep grazing. Asken has been working with ecologists from Penny Anderson Associates for United Utilities to prepare management plans to do just this, and for Staffordshire County Council at Cannock Chase.

Impacts of Developments on Agriculture

A substantial area of agricultural land is lost each year to roads, housing, commercial/ industrial developments and other infrastructure projects. Legislation requires Environmental Statements to be prepared where the impacts are thought likely to be significant. Where the proposed development is likely to affect agricultural activity, either by forcing major changes in management or through landtake, agricultural impacts may need to be assessed. It is up to the local planning authority to decide to what extent their policies apply but where landtake involves the loss of 'best and most versatile land', it is likely that they will want agriculture to be covered in the ES.

However, the change of the application of PPG7 with respect to Best and Most Versatile land, announced by the Planning Minister, represents a ‘softening’ of the line on agricultural impacts, but also widens the scope of factors that need to be taken into account (a shift towards a more ‘sustainability-oriented’ approach).

Identifying suitable mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the development requires expert knowledge of farming operations, an appreciation of the other factors that influence design decisions, and an ability to accurately portray the findings often with only limited information.

How can Asken help?

Asken director, Ken Taylor, has 10 years' experience of advising farmers on how to manage their farms and so is able to view issues from the farmer's perspective. He has also spent over 20 years advising public sector and corporate clients on agricultural matters and how these affect their interests.

Last Updated 05/07