Agriculture in UK Law

Parliament must have conferred the discretion with the intention that it should be used to promote the policy and objects of the Act; the policy and objects of the Act must be determined by construing the Act as a whole and construction is always a matter of law for the Court.

The question of prior approval under paragraph A2(2) can only arise in respect of “permitted development” within Class A (i.e. development falling within the terms of Class A and not excluded by paragraph A1). Such development is permitted subject to the conditions in paragraph A2, including the condition relating to prior approval, but those conditions do not affect the principle of development.

That exercise involves potentially difficult planning judgments, which are the province of the local planning authority and, on appeal, the planning inspector and with which the court will not interfere otherwise than on grounds of irrationality. That makes it all the important for the court to be satisfied that the decision-maker has approached the exercise from the right perspective when attributing weight to the competing considerations.

For I am of opinion that a planning condition is only void for uncertainty if it can be given no meaning or no sensible or ascertainable meaning, and not merely because it is ambiguous or leads to absurd results. It is the daily task of the courts to resolve ambiguities of language and to choose between them; and to construe words so as to avoid absurdities or to put up with them. And this applies to conditions in planning permissions as well as to other documents.

The definition of "agricultural population" in the Housing Acts is limited by the context to the agricultural population "of the district", that is, of the locality. So here the words of the condition are to be read in the light of the reasons which the planning authority are enjoined to give, see Crisp from the Fens Ltd. v. Rutland County Council (1950) 1 Planning and Compensation Reports, 48.

When the true owner of land intends to use it for a particular purpose in the future, but meanwhile has no immediate use for it, and so leaves it unoccupied, he does not lose his title to it simply because some other person enters on it and uses it for some temporary surpose, like stacking materials; or for some seasonal purpose, like growing vegetables.

Subject to these conditions: "(l) The buildings shall be removed at the expiration of the period ending December 31st, 1972. (2) The use shall be confinedto storage and no materials shall be stored which give rise to offence by reason of smell". For this reason: "(l) To accord with the local planning authority's policy regarding industrial development in rural areas.