Call to ease restrictions and aid rural economy

BRITAIN’S countryside is being "held back by red tape” and must be freed to thrive, a major new report launched in Parliament has claimed.

- LEWIS CLARKE

The YIMBY Initiative's latest publication, Yes In My Farm Yard: How Permitted Development Can Save Rural Britain, calls on the government to go “further and faster” in reforming planning laws to boost rural homes, jobs and enterprise.

Launched at an event bringing together MPs, farmers, policymakers and business leaders, the report argues that outdated restrictions are stifling opportunity and deepening the rural productivity gap.

It builds on planning changes introduced by the Conservative’ government in 2024, which expanded Permitted Development Rights (PDRs) to allow greater flexibility for barn conversions and farm diversification. But the YIMBY Initiative says these reforms do not go far enough.