The use of polytunnels – long plastic tunnels – by the British soft fruits farming industry is under the microscope at a court hearing.
The operator of a farm near Godalming, in Surrey, wants the High Court to overturn a ruling that the tunnels need planning permission.
The Hall Hunter Partnership’s lawyer said they were “an agricultural use of land” – and exempt from planning rules.
Opponents believe the polytunnels are “a blight on the landscape”.
Hall Hunter bought the 469-acre Tuesley Farm in 2003 and has grown strawberries, raspberries and blackberries there.
The tunnels extend the growing season and the soft fruits farming industry argues that production would be harmed if planning laws restricted their use.
A campaign group set up by more than 80 families living near Tuesley Farm have condemned the polytunnels as being part of “an enormous industrial farming operation” on green belt land.
There’s a ranch down the road from me that I don’t like being there. Maybe I can get it shut down because the cows are really ugly?
They should just make the tunnels green instead of white.
Right…
Because farms are so damn pretty, right…
The only reason to keep the countryside is to have a place to grow food. Once food production is moved to orbital hydroponics plants and we have the technology to climate comtrol the planet, our quaint and primitive desire for pretty scenery will be over and we can finally urbanize every square inch of this dreadful rock.
Only then will everyone have access to theater and good restaruants and quality live music venues. Gone will be the horrid little enclaves of archaic thinking, like Waco, TX or Falls Church, VA. In this glorious furture, New York, Chicago, and LA will spread and merge into one uber-city. Technocracy will be the world’s government and those misanthropic zenophobes who stockpile weapons and make up the militia compounds and cult camps of the modern wildreness will be repourposed to live a life of excitement and adventure in the glorious Off World colonies where new beach heads for humanity will be established.
Oh glorious future… why can’t you hasten your approach and save me from this redneck wonderland I have fallen victim to in my wretched life?
What about the ‘agricultural smells’?
Never live near an ‘organic farm!’
Or the ‘chicken capitol of the world’ whew!
I remember being in Surry, The covers are only used in bad weather.
They should change the law to protect the farm.
there wont be any scenery left when the plants die.
I guess if all the farmers are made to play by the same rules, I don’t see the problem here. Surley the consumers would prefer a little more picturesque landscape to lower produce prices. Right? As other people said, perhaps if fertilizing is considered a blight, they could do away with that as well.
There has to be a logical explanation.
Gov’t decision, perhaps funded by overseas fruit exporters?
Remove or restrict local production.
Like our strawberry summer production. For a month, most of the population buys local. In the local super market super stores, like Loblaws, you can’t easily tell local from US strawberries in late July.
Same thing for corn on the cob.
The only way to tell the two apart is by tasting.
I LIKE it…
and when crop season and harvest is over, and the BAre ground is turning to MUD, these folks will complain MORE??
They will force the farmer to grow something ont he top soil to Cover THE MUD…
it all those city folks moving to the crountry and complaining about the noise and smell.
Nice try, but green tunnels would kill the plants, since they would absorb the same light frequencies the plants need for photosynthesis.
Just what you’d expect from the residents of Godalarming, Surrey.
Hi Dvorak,
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check this out
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best regards
they should have a Pumpkin Launching contest….
TARGET….1 Multi million dollor Building.
#2 “Once food production is moved to orbital hydroponics plants…”
Shades of the movie “Silent Running”
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running
Steve
IMNHO I find those things quite pretty, it gives a futuristic feel to the fields.
Planning on farms should be limited to preventing runoff of agricultural wastes. Those structures are effectively portable greenhouses, and let people eat strawberries, raspberries, or whatever year round. What’s wrong with that? I agree with Angel Wong–they’re not ugly.
Ha ha. As a kid growing up in southern California, I had convinced my little sister that all those plastic covered strawberry fields is were where they grew plastic sheeting for cling wrap.
Too bad urban people are so stupid. Food comes from farms not the store. If we can’t educate them the Soylent Green option may be relevant.
#6…Mark…..no…there’s no logical explanation. This is England we are talking about. Councils have a huge amount of power and weild it, usually in some totally asshole way. The UK has become a huge nanny state, where you can complain about anything, claim it’s a blight or worse, harms children and the Councils will make it go away. Dosen’t matter if they lose revenue from jobs or taxes, the real point is to be reelected to your power position.
This is the same country that is clamping down on carbon emissions, yet, because a business like this might be shut down, guess how the consumers(the ones making the *blight* complaints) will get there fresh berries???……by having them flown in from Africa or South America. Typical Brit logic.
I would place a 30+ foot sign…
How much your berries??
I got BIG ones, want one??
Still like the Pumpkin tossing idea…
#2, you really don’t like the out doors at all? I mean I can see hating the conservative peckers who sometimes live out there, but don’t blame the landscape. The idea of having no more deserts, mountains and forests to hike around or camp in is sad and scary. Cities are nasty dirty places that have the overwhelming smell of car exhaust and fried food all the time. Now don’t get me wrong, cities have many useful things in them, but so does the out doors! Just try it some time, it’s nicer then you think.