Scottish Agritourism Responds to National Planning Framework Consultation: Scotland 2045

Scottish Agritourism has responded to the consultation for Scotland’s fourth national planning framework. You can read our full response below.

Q38: Do you agree that this policy will help to inspire people to visit Scotland, and support sustainable tourism which benefits local people and is consistent with our net zero and nature commitments?

Introduction
Growing the number and diversity of authentic agritourism experiences in Scotland is among the main ambitions of Scottish Agritourism’s strategy, which is designed to galvanise the country’s valuable agriculture and tourism sectors. Unveiled as part of the Scottish Agritourism Conference held at Perth Concert Hall on 10th November, Scottish Agritourism 2030 – The Strategy for Sustainable Growth sets out a shared vision for the sector. The strategy aims to sustainably develop the rural economy, protect family farms for future generations, build consumer awareness and loyalty towards local produce, and celebrate the history and heritage of these important Scottish communities.

Visit Scotland last week published the results of the Scottish Agritourism Growth Tracker which estimates the sector will be worth £250 million by 2030 supporting 10,000 jobs. The annual growth tracker undertaken by Visit Scotland on behalf of the sector will measure a range of KPIS . https://scottishagritourism.co.uk/sowing-the-seeds-of-success/
Scottish Agritourism has restricted its submission to commenting on the following section – Policy: 17 Sustainable Tourism.
The draft NPF4 aims ‘to inspire people to visit Scotland, and to support sustainable tourism which benefits local people and is consistent with our environmental commitments’. We are entirely supportive of the concept of sustainable tourism and believe that agritourism has a key role in facilitating this development.

Policy 17 starts with two key provisions:

• Local authorities are to use sector driven tourism strategies to identify proposals for tourism development to ‘support the resilience of the tourism sector’. These proposals will be contained in the local development plan.
• Development proposals for new or extended tourist facilities or accommodation are to be supported where they can contribute to viability, sustainability and diversity of the local economy.

Farmers who chose to diversify to include tourism accommodation, food and drink offerings, event space or farm tour facilities should be supported and encouraged. Recognition should be given to the resulting local employment and spend by visitors in the local economy and the ability to support farmers to stay in business post CAP reform. Each enterprise in turn benefits the national economy, beyond the LDP area. As a sector, agritourism businesses can lead the way in providing accommodation and experiences that become integral parts of our local communities. Encouraging farm retail of farm produce or use of farm produce on a farm café or B&B directly supports sustainable local food production and is aligned with becoming a Good Food Nation.

Where existing tourism is having adverse environmental or quality of life / health /wellbeing impacts on local communities, policy 17 states that development proposals should only be supported ‘If satisfactory measures are proposed to alleviate existing pressures and prevent further adverse impacts’. In reality, what does this look like for an individual business? Individual businesses cannot be held accountable for wider tourism impacts, where they will bring benefit to the area regardless.

Policy 17 (e) discourages proposals for reuse of existing buildings for short-term holiday letting if this would result in unacceptable impact on amenity or character, or the loss of residences is not outweighed by local economic benefit. Our concern with this proposal is that it may prohibit a farmer from reusing existing cottages or converting an unused stable or outbuilding for self-catering accommodation. Similarly, a family who inherit a relative’s property may not be able to use it as a self-catering holiday let. In Italy the use of existing buildings, either farm cottages or farm buildings is actively encouraged to make best use of existing resources and to sustain the culture of older buildings which are part of farming heritage.

In respect of Policy 17 (e), 60% of Scottish Agritourism members have what is now described to be short-term let accommodation: self-catering / glamping / huts / B&B or guest house. This sector is already facing a dramatically increased regulatory burden with Short-term let licensing and Planning Control Areas. These will negatively impact Scotland’s tourism sector, as well as people’s lives and livelihoods. We stand by our colleagues at the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers in their concerns relating to this legislation. We also concur with them that there should be no further short-term let regulations in Scotland until the cumulative effect of licensing and control areas has been fully analysed to ensure there are no unintended consequences and that they are clearly meeting policy objectives.

Policy 17 (f) suggests that change of use from tourism related facilities is not supported unless non-viability is demonstrated ‘and that there is no requirement for alternative tourist facilities in the area’. This may prevent a family which has optimised the use of their second home as a self-catering holiday let, or an agritourism business which runs a B&B or guest house, from changing the use of the property, unless they can show there is no need for that specific tourist facility. What proof would they have to give under these circumstances?

Agritourism enables access to rural areas and activities, as well as education about farming and food provenance that are pivotal to the wellbeing of our nation. Agritourism businesses do not negatively impact nature nor exacerbate scale and increased visitor impacts on communities, nor do they hinder provision of homes or services for locals, decrease access, parking or increase traffic.

Agritourism, which is well established in the EU, has developed in Scotland in the past ten years after some of those in the farming community recognised there was a need to diversify to survive. It was one of the tourism sectors to experience a rise in visitors during the pandemic (when restrictions were eased), with holidaymakers discovering countryside retreats amid the rise of the staycation. Agritourism in Scotland will be worth £250 million by 2030. The National Planning Framework should support the sustainable growth of this sector, not disincentivise or penalise it.

The national significance of agritourism should not be underestimated it is critical that flawed planning policy should not result in unintended consequences for a growing and sustainable sector.

Conclusion
We do have concerns regarding the detail of Policy 17. Indeed, the draft policy raises more questions than it answers and the detail needs to be scrutinised in order to avoid unintended consequences.

Tourism brings a wide range of economic, social, and cultural benefits to our communities, whilst generating employment and economic activity in our rural and remote areas in particular, which then brings wider societal benefits. Diversified agritourism businesses, often inclusing self-catering and other short-term lets, are one of the more sustainable holiday sectors with businesses supporting communities through local visitor spend and through business sourcing local tradesmen and suppliers.