The land use planning implications of continuing, modifying or abolishing

HUNTING with HOUNDS

Preliminary evidence prepared for the Burns Committee
by
ROBIN BRYER, BA, MRTPI

Chartered Town Planner

INTRODUCTION

Robin Bryer (55) has an honours degree in Land Use Studies from Durham University. He is a Chartered Town Planner, being a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

He has 32 years experience working in the planning profession for local and central government and also for private land owners, developers, MPs, conservation organisations and government departments. He has been involved with over one thousand planning appeals. In private practice since 1973, his work has had a rural emphasis.

This evidence is a self-funded contribution to the Burns inquiry. Conceivably it is the only evidence submitted by a chartered town planner. It is understood that the Royal Town Planning Institute is declining to submit evidence. David Rose, the External Affairs Director of the Institute, is aware of this contribution and a copy is being sent to him.

This evidence has been prepared in association with the Countryside Alliance and the Game Conservancy Trust with a view to avoiding duplication.

Accordingly, this evidence concerns itself with planning rather than natural history measures, the latter being addressed by the Nature Conservancy Trust in a very comprehensive study currently being prepared by them on behalf of the Countryside Alliance.

For the purposes of this evidence, planning is taken to be those matters covered by government advice as published in Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs).

Throughout, the evidence seeks to focus upon the land use planning implications of the three options for the future of hunting being:

Apart from the analysis of the PPGs where verbatim quotation is appropriate and repetition is inevitable when the same matter is addressed by more than one PPG, the evidence seeks to be relatively brief.

The evidence concludes with seven case studies which, in particular, explore the practicality of identifying a new type of landscape designation, namely the Historic Hunting Landscape (HHL).

Throughout, the word "hunting" is used to mean hunting with hounds; the word "hound" is used to denote a dog or bitch used for hunting and the word "country" means the defined area within which a hunt operates.

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1. PLANNING BACKGROUND

1.1 Hunting, next to farming, is the most extensive land use in England. An almost continuous network of defined hunting countries extends across some three-quarters of the land surface. That is not to say that all the land is hunted over, but most land in the countryside is contained within a clearly identifiable hunting country.

1.2 Hunt countries are, in effect, planning units, with the hunt kennels at their centre.

1.3 Hunting largely takes place on agricultural land. It has a vermin control function. It can assist in farm maintenance and provide a service for the removal of fallen stock. However, it is not ancillary to agriculture. It is a land use in its own right.

1.4 If hunting only involved farmers in pursuit of vermin on their own land, it would be an ancillary use and would therefore not require planning permission. However, hunting is concerned with sport, tourism and recreation as well as vermin control so that, in the event of a new hunt being established, planning permission would be required.

1.5 Certainly, under permitted development rights, planning permission need not be applied for if land is used in a new manner for less than 28 days in a year, but it is the hunt country, rather than any part of it, which is the planning unit. Therefore if a hunt were to meet more than 28 times in one year anywhere within its country, planning permission would be required. Planning permission is required for activities such as motorbike scrambling, war games and clay pigeon shooting on what is primarily agricultural or forestry land. No less, therefore, would be the requirement for planning permission to establish a new hunt.

1.6 However, planning permission has only generally been required since the 1947 Planning Act. Few, if any, hunts have been established since then, so the issue has not arisen. However, the corollary is that every hunt established prior to 1947 has deemed planning consent.

1.7 By thus placing hunting firmly within the planning context, it can clearly be seen that the abolition of hunting would not simply be a matter of stopping a minority activity. It would, in addition, amount to the revocation of planning permission for each and every hunt. Apart from the compensation implications of revoking such rights, it would curtail one of England's most extensive land usesJinsofar as hunting is both a contributor to and a steward of the landscape, it could also lead to a major change in the appearance of the countryside. It would do so, very largely, in the face of statutory policy, as will be shown.

1.8 Section 54A of the 1990 Planning Act requires that decisions be made in accordance with such statutory policy, unless material considerations dictate otherwise.

1.9 County Structure Plans and District Local Plans, with reference to the countryside, generally state that in the countryside uses shall for the most part remain unchanged. Land users in the countryside have a right to rely upon such a statement of statutory policy. The curtailment of hunting would be a change and as such would undermine faith in the planning system, in particular, and government in general.

1.10 The question is whether ethical objection to hunting with hounds is a material consideration of such strength as to justify overthrowing the presumption in favour of land uses in the countryside remaining unchanged.

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2. PLANNING GUIDANCE

2.1 Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs) set out the government's policies on different aspects of planning. There follows an analysis of this PPG advice insofar as it has a bearing upon hunting.

2.2 The relevant PPGs are:

• PPG1: General Policy and Principles
• PPG2: Green Belts
• PPG7: The Countryside: environmental quality and economic and social development.
• PPG9: Nature Conservation
• PPG13: Transport
• PPG15: Planning and the Historic Environment
• PPG17: Sport and Recreation
• PPG21: Tourism

2.3 Quotations from the PPGs are shown in heavy type followed by comments upon their relevance to hunting in italics.

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1. PPG1: General Policy and Principles

A1. The introduction refers to Section 54A of the Act, referred to in Paragraph 1.8 above. It then goes on to emphasise the importance of sustainable development which seeks to deliver the objective of achieving, now and in the future, economic development to secure higher living standards while protecting and enhancing the environment. Hunting does much to achieve both.

A2. The PPG then quotes the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 where it defines sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs which calls into question whether a generation which may not approve of hunting should deprive a future generation, which might, of the opportunity to hunt.

A3. The PPG then refers to Sustainable Development: and the UK Strategy (1994) which has among its objectives the requirement to conserve both the cultural heritage and natural resources. Hunting is part of our cultural heritage and it does much to assist in conservation of our natural resources.

A4. Moving to Paragraph 23 of the PPG, policies are recommended which help to reduce growth in the length and number of motorised journeys. Since there is such a comprehensive network of hunts throughout the countryside, no-one lives far from a hunting country so motorised journeys can be reasonably short, when going hunting.

A5. The PPG next advises the encouragement of alternative means of travel which have less environmental impact (than the motor car) Hunting encourages the survival of the horse as a means of transport, being the only activity, apart from timber haulage and police crowd control, where motorised transport is not the more practical alternative.

A6. Paragraph 32 of the PPG is concerned with conserving the historic environment. It says that it is fundamental to the government's policies for environmental stewardship that there should be effective protection for the historic environment. Those aspects of our past which have been identified as being of historic importance are to be valued and protected for their own sake, as a central part of our cultural heritage. Their presence adds to the quality of our lives, by enhancing the familiar and cherished local scene and sustaining the sense of local distinctiveness which is so important an aspect of the character and appearance of our countryside. Their continued use is important if they are to contribute fully to (the) life of our communities. And hunting is very much concerned with environmental stewardship and many hunts are indeed of historic importance to be valued and protected for their own sake, forming a central part of our cultural heritage. Their presence do indeed add to the quality of our lives and a landscape maintained for hunting does enhance the familiar and cherished local scene, at the same time sustaining the sense of local distinctiveness which is so important an aspect of the character and appearance of our countryside; such continued use is indeed important if hunting is to continue to contribute fully to the life of our communities - unless ethical considerations are considered to outweigh matters which are so clearly of importance to the government.

A7. The PPG next promotes, at Paragraph 33, a more accessible environment for everyone. Hunting does indeed make the environment more accessible, providing a well-behaved follower, on horse or on foot, the opportunity to cross private land away from public rights of way, courtesy of the land owner, in pursuit of the hunt.

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B1. The PPG reminds us that the first official proposal for a green belt was made in 1935 to provide a reserve supply of public open spaces and recreational areas and to establish a green belt or girdle of open space. Hunting country is just such an open space and hunting itself is a recreation and a major proportion of those who hunt live in towns, so hunting is entirely compatible with the green belt concept.

B2. Concerning the use of land in green belts, the PPG observes (1 6) that there are several positive objectives, including to retain attractive landscapes, and enhance landscapes, near to where people live. The countryside stewardship exercised by many hunts helps both to retain and enhance such landscapes.

B3. The PPG then goes on to say at Annex A that local authorities can assist land owners in maintaining and improving their land by working together with them, with voluntary organisations including Groundwork Trusts and with statutory bodies such as the Countryside Commission, the Forestry Commission, and (where significant areas of derelict or vacant land are involved) English Partnerships and they might have added hunts with a generous and responsible approach to countryside stewardship.

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C. PPG7: The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development

C1. This PPG was revised in 1997 to take account of Rural England: a Nation committed to a Living Countryside and hunting is part of that living countryside, whatever your ethical viewpoint.

C2. As with PPG1, reference is then made to sustainable development as "the cornerstone of both the government's rural policies and its planning policies" and hunting is sustainable in that it helps to retain and enhance the landscape for present and future generations.

C3. The PPG then refers to shared responsibility for the countryside as a national asset, which serves people who live and work there as well as visitors. Hunting people fall into all three categories and hunts share responsibility for maintaining the countryside with landowners and other organisations.

C4. The PPG then promotes a dialogue to help reconcile competing priorities and the Burns Inquiry is just such a dialogue, the competing priorities being those of conservation, recreation and vermin control, on the one hand, and perceived ethics on the other.

C5. The PPG then goes on to promote economic and social diversity which hunting provides by helping maintain hunting country, providing employment and bringing together people from all walks of life who would not otherwise socialise together.

C6. The PPG then emphasises the need for sound information as the basis for effective policies hence the Burns Inquiry.

C7. Turning to sustainable development, the PPG observes that wealth creation and environmental quality are increasingly interconnected. The appeal of the countryside is essential to its economic prosperity, and healthy economic activity in rural areas facilitates investment to protect and improve the countryside - matters which hunting has for long facilitated and could continue to do so.

C8. The PPG further seeks to maintain or enhance the character of the countryside and conserve its natural resources, including safeguarding the distinctiveness of its landscapes - and each hunting country has a distinctive landscape character of its own and….its historic….interest and many hunts have interesting histories, typically dating back 200 years or more.

C9. Moving on to consider changes in the countryside, the PPG observes at Paragraph 1.7 farming uses occupy around three-quarters of the land surfaces of England as do hunting countries. Agriculture will remain the major user of rural land and the use that most influences the physical appearance and character of the countryside modified by the requirements of the hunting community to retain hedges and coverts where economic farming might otherwise call for their removal. Farmers are increasingly diversifying into other activities to supplement their incomes those other activities include hunting and hunting related activities over their land. Land owners need flexibility to consider a range of options for the economic use of their land including planting more woodland, recreation and leisure enterprises, the management of land to provide environmental benefit and the restoration of damaged landscapes and habitats. Hunting concerns both recreation and leisure, together with the management of land to provide environmental benefits, so it has and could continue to assist.

C10. At Paragraph 1.8 the PPG observes that the government would like to see woodland cover double in the next half century. Well planned and managed woodland will improve the appearance of the countryside enrich wildlife habitats (and) open up new opportunities for recreation which could include extending and enhancing hunting areas, the government's objective being at one with those of the hunting community as far as increasing woodland cover is concerned.

C11. At Paragraph 2.2 the PPG admits that much activity in the countryside is outside the scope of the planning system but it does help to integrate the development necessary to sustain economic and social activity in rural communities with the protection of the countryside for the sake of its beauty, the diversity of its landscape and historic character, the wealth of its natural resources….(and) recreational....value. And hunting does much to sustain economic and social activity in rural communities while at the same time helping to maintain the landscape and make good use of its recreational opportunities.

C12. In Paragraph 2.3 it is observed that in areas statutorily designated for their landscape, wildlife or historic qualities, policies give greater priority to restraint and perhaps such designated landscape areas should be extended to recognise the importance of the hunting landscape, its present day contribution and its historic value.

C13. At Paragraph 2.7 the PPG observes that local plans must include policies in respect of the conservation of the natural beauty and amenity of the land and it would surely be appropriate for such policies to recognise the importance of hunting and the contribution which it makes towards conservation.

C14. At Paragraph 2.8 local authorities are told to weigh the need to encourage rural enterprise such as hunting, protect landscape, wildlife and historic features such as to be found in hunting countries, have regard to the quality and versatility of land for use in forestry and other rural enterprises - enterprises such as hunting, (and) strengthen rural communities by….underpinning services and community facilities such as those provided by the local hunt in a wide range of ways, from picking up fallen stock to putting on variety shows in village halls.

C15. At Paragraph 2.10 the PPG says that development plans should help promote healthy rural communities and there is perhaps nothing healthier than hunting regularly nor anything more likely to promote a sense of community among country people, ethical misgivings apart.

C16. At Paragraph 2.14 the PPG says that the government's policy is that the countryside should be safeguarded for its own sake. Hunting has assisted in moulding that countryside, it is an integral part of it and, therefore, deserves likewise to be safeguarded for its own sake.

C17. The PPG next refers to the work by the Countryside Commission (as it then was) and English Nature analysing the distinctive features of the English countryside in both landscape and nature conservation terms, identifying the unique character of different areas of countryside, observing that such character is derived from the inter reaction of physical and ecological features....with land use and other human activity such as farming patterns, settlement form and building design to which should surely be added the continuing influence of hunting upon the landscape.

C18. At Paragraph 3.4 the PPG observes that farms increasingly look to diversify beyond the agricultural industry in order to supplement their incomes. Much farm based work is now concerned with activities such as equestrian businesses, sporting facilities and holiday accommodation. This provides potential benefits for the local economy and environment in which hunting can, and does, play a part.

C19. At Paragraph 3.12 the PPG says that rural tourism makes a major and growing contribution to rural economic activity it needs to develop in a way which draws on the character of the countryside of which hunting is an integral part. It goes on to say increasing opportunities for people to enjoy the countryside for sport and recreation provides new uses for land in the countryside and is an important source of income and employment to which one should add that hunting already provides opportunities for people to enjoy the countryside for sport and recreation and could usefully continue to do so.

C20. This part of the advice concludes with the observation that horse riding is increasingly popular in the countryside a popularity which is not unrelated to hunting and its support organisations such as the Pony Club.

C21. In Annex C Development Related to Agriculture and to Farm Diversification, Paragraph C19 concerns farm sports and observes that demand for sports and recreation services is increasing, and diversifying into these areas can provide a useful source of employment. The main aim of such diversification in rural areas should be to reconcile the interests of these activities with those of conservation. Hunting is surely pre-eminent among such ~farm sports and its activities, properly managed, promote conservation.

C22. Annex F concerns development involving horses and confirms that a planning application is normally required for the use of land for equestrian activities such as hunting if one was seeking to open a new hunting country.

C23. The annex concludes with the observation that the government wishes to see a positive approach towards planning applications for horse-based development with respect to the rural environment so presumably planning permission would be forthcoming if an application were made to open a new hunting country, at least on the basis of the advice in this very relevant PPG.

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D1. PPG9 embodies the government's commitment to sustainable development and to conserving the diversity of our wildlife with which hunting is compatible. At Paragraph 2 it observes that sound stewardship of wildlife and natural features is not a task for government alone. It depends also on the decisions made by….land owners and others who influence the….use of land such as hunts.

D2. At Paragraph 3 it observes that attractive environments, where attention is given to nature conservation, are essential to social and economic well-being such as the woods and hedgerows of good hunting country.

D3. At Paragraph 4 it says that the key to the conservation of wildlife is the protection of the habitat on which it depends and good hunting country, by definition, provides good habitats for foxes and their own natural prey.

D4. At Annex G the PPG sets out the Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora which observes that whereas provision should be made for management measures for certain species, if their conservation status so warrants, including the prohibition of certain means of capture or killing, whilst providing for the possibility of derogations on certain conditions. The fox is not included among the list of such animals, but even if it were the prohibition of certain means of capture or killing listed in Annex 6 to the habitats directive does not include hunting with hounds, so that the ethical objection which some have to this method of culling is not shared by the Directive.

D5. The Directive at Article 10 encourages the management of features of the landscape which are of major importance for wild fauna and flora Such features are those which, by virtue of their linear and continuous structure (such as rivers with their banks or the traditional systems for marking field boundaries) or their function as stepping stones (such as ponds or small woods) are essential to the migration, dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species and this could well serve as a description of an ideal hunting landscape; hunts have been providing and promoting just such a habitat that the directive seeks, for the best of reason', self interest, since it is precisely this type of landscape which is conducive both to the fox and his prey.

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E1. The PPG is generally concerned with reducing the amount that people travel and locating development in a way which is well related to main roads and railways. As already touched upon, no-one need travel far to hunt, the countryside being covered by a network of hunting countries.

E2. As regards railways, the growth in popularity of hunting in the nineteenth century was a direct product of the railways and, in the last century, of the motorways which made popular packs easily accessible from London.

E3. The PPG, at Paragraph 3.7, says that local authorities should encourage the carriage of freight by rail, rather than by road. If hunting were to survive, one would hope to see the re-introduction of the carriage of horses on trains, commonplace up until about thirty years ago.

E4. At Paragraph 5.15 the PPG dwells upon the need to mitigate the impact of new road schemes. While hunting has benefited both from road and rail, by making hunting countries more easily accessible, it has also suffered from countries being severed by new routes which can be murderous to fox and hound alike. If hunting were to survive this should be a factor in considering new road and rail proposals.

E5. The paragraph lists official landscape areas from which new routes should, where possible, be excluded. Harm to historic hunting landscapes could usefully be included within this advice if the retention of hunting in its present or modified form were to be confirmed.

E6. Other than these general points, the PPG has little direct relevance to hunting, hence no direct quotations and annotated comments.

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F1. The PPG states that it is fundamental to the government's policies for environmental stewardship that there should be effective protection for all aspects of the historic environment and responsible hunts undertake the environmental stewardship of the hunting landscapes within their country. The physical survivals of our past are to be valued and protected for their own sake, as an essential part of our cultural heritage and our sense of national identity. The physical survival of hunting landscapes should in particular be celebrated not only as part of our past but also of our present and, if ethical misgivings are not to prevail, our future likewise. They are an irreplaceable record which contributes to our understanding of both the present and the past. Their presence adds to the quality of our lives, by enhancing the familiar and cherished local scene and sustaining the sense of local distinctiveness which is so important an aspect of the character and appearance of our…. countryside. The historic environment is also of immense importance for leisure and recreation which includes hunting, which plays its own part in sustaining a sense of local distinctiveness and adding to the quality of our lives by enhancing the familiar and cherished local scene.

F2. At Paragraph 1.3 the PPG states that the government has committed itself to the concept of sustainable development - of not sacrificing what future generations will value for the sake of short-term and often illusory gains such as preventing one manner of killing a fox in favour of another, on evidence which may be flawed, in a manner which might prove irreversible, since a future generation, in a different social and political environment, might find the start-up costs of restoring hunting to be prohibitive.

F3. The advice goes on to say that this commitment has particular relevance to the preservation of the historic environment which by its nature is irreplaceable and a future generation might find that the historic hunting landscape had vanished through lack of use and that there would be little prospect of its restoration.

F4. At Paragraph 1.5 the PPG says that conservation can itself play a key part in promoting economic prosperity by ensuring that an area offers attractive living and working conditions which will encourage inward investment - environmental quality is increasingly a key factor in many commercial decisions and it is certainly the case that many American, Canadian and French businessmen favour England because of their interest in hunting

F5. Paragraph 1.6 of the PPG says that the government urges local authorities to maintain and strengthen their commitment to stewardship of the historic environment - an exhortation which the government might equally make to hunts which, for their own good reasons, are in any event committed.

F6. The advice goes on to say that above all, local authorities should ensure that they can call on sufficient specialist conservation advice and that should include specialists in fox hunting and maintenance of hunting countries.

F7. At Paragraph 1.7 the PPG says the historic environment cannot be preserved unless there is broad public support and understanding, and it is a key element of government policy for conservation that there should be adequate processes of consultation and education to facilitate this and this should include a wider understanding and tolerance of a countryside activity, such as hunting, being itself such a part of the historic environment and a force for conservation.

F8. Paragraph 2.16 concerns the setting of listed buildings This is relevant because two types of building associated with hunting - the country house and the hunt kennels - are often listed The advice is that one should have special regard to ….preserving the setting of the building in the case of the country house, that could be its park and its surrounding landscape; in the case of the kennels it could extend to the entire hunting country or, at the least, representative parts of it.

F9. Concerning the buildings themselves, at Paragraph 3.10 the PPG makes clear that the best use will very often be the use for which the building was designed, and the continuation or reinstatement of that use should certainly be the first option when the future of a building is considered so that a house which was very largely built for its owner to hunt from and to act as host to a meet of hounds should be allowed to continue in that function and, likewise, a hunt kennels should continue to house the hounds for which they were designed, ethical misgivings apart.

F10. Concerning landscape, Paragraph 2.24 refers to English Heritage's register of parks and gardens of special historic interest while Paragraph 2.25 refers to its register of Historic Battlefields and an equally useful register could be prepared of Historic Hunting Landscapes.

F11. Paragraph 2.26 states conservation of the wider historic landscape greatly depends on active land management such as that carried out by hunts but there is nevertheless a significant role for local planning authorities. In defining planning policies for the countryside, authorities should take account of the historical dimension of the landscape as a whole rather than concentrate on selected areas. Adequate understanding is an essential preliminary and hunts can help them achieve that understanding when looking at a hunting landscape.

F12. In Part 2, concerned with identifying and recording the historic environment, the PPG observes that in its broadest sense, the historic environment embraces all those aspects of the countryside that reflect the shaping hand of human history. Scarcely any part of England is untouched by the interaction between people and nature which has taken place over thousands of years no better exemplified than the inter-reaction between horse, hound, man and fox with its lasting but fragile contribution to the landscape.

F13. It goes on to observe, at Paragraph 6.2, that in the countryside, the detailed patterns of fields and farms, of hedgerows and walls, and of hamlets and villages, are amongst the most highly valued aspects of our environment - something which hunting takes advantage of and contributes to.

F14. The advice goes on to say that England is particularly rich in designed landscapes of parks and gardens and the built and natural features they contain to which could be added the hunting landscape; not entirely natural and to a degree designed to provide a good habitat and interesting cross-country riding The advice continues with the observation that the greatest of these (landscapes) are as important to national, and indeed international, culture as are our greatest buildings and certainly the contribution of the fox hunting landscape is international, with our methods of managing hunting country being copied world-wide; it would be unfortunate if only the copies survived.

F15. Paragraph 6.10 dwells upon the principles of selection of buildings to be listed as of architectural or historic interest Several hunt kennels are already listed It is an anomaly, however, that some of the grandest are not Inconsistency in listing is something which English Heritage is increasingly addressing Were hunting to be abolished, ironically the historic interest of hunt kennels would increase so that, on the advice contained in Paragraph 6.10, one would expect many of the humbler kennels to be listed likewise since they would illustrate important aspects of the nation's social....(and)....cultural history. It is perhaps an English trait that one only values something after it has been lost.

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G. PPG17: Sport and Recreation

G1. The PPG opens by observing that sport and recreation are activities with major land use implications. There is growing awareness of the importance of sports and recreational facilities of all kinds….and the increasing use of the countryside for these purposes hence the growing popularity of fox hunting, except among those with ethical misgivings.

G2. The PPG goes on to observe that sport and recreation are important components of civilised life. Participation can help improve the individual's health and sense of well-being while some would agree to differ as to whether or not hunting is civilised, it certainly promotes health and well-being among those who participate in it, not least the fox on the principle of survival of the fittest.

G3. The advice goes on to say that the promotion of sporting excellence can help foster civic and national pride and, as Lucinda Green has recently observed, hunting is an essential training ground for international horse trials; the excellence of English hunting was a major contributory factor in England's pre-eminence in the "eventing" world and surely will be again, if hunting continues.

G4. The advice goes on to say that it is the policy of the government to promote the development of sport and recreation in the widest sense, to enable people to participate in sport, whether as players or spectators, and to encourage the provision of a wide range of opportunities for recreation, so that people can choose those which suit them best. If hunting is to be abolished, those with a talent for it would be denied the opportunity to develop that talent, contrary to this government advice.

G5. The advice goes on to say that such opportunities should, wherever possible, be available for everyone, including the elderly and those with disabilities for whom access to facilities is especially important and hunting is remarkable for the range of age and ability for which it can provide sport.

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H1. The PPG opens by stating that tourism makes a major contribution to the national economy and to the prosperity of….rural areas….Because it often depends on a high quality environment, it can act as a positive force for environmental protection and enhancement. Many areas have important natural features which serve to attract tourists. Indirectly hunting serves tourism by being an activity which helps to preserve the landscape features which attract visitors; directly it also serves as an attraction, both as a spectacle and as an activity in which tourists may participate.

H2. The PPG goes on to say that the government's policy is that the tourism industry should flourish in response to the market while respecting the environment which attracts visitors but also has a far wider and enduring value….the central objective is to achieve "sustainable development" that serves the interests of both economic growth and the conservation of the environment and hunting can and does indeed make a sustainable contribution to tourism.

H3. At Paragraph 2.1 the PPG observes that Tourism covers a very wide range of activities including hunting. The Tourism Society defines it as "the temporary short term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and the activities during their stay at these destinations" such as people coming from abroad, out of towns or from another hunting country for the purposes of following a hunt.

H4. The PPG at Paragraph 2.5 says that the functions of survey and analysis that underpin effective land-use planning necessarily include tourism activities and their inter-relationship with other land uses and just as hunting inter-relates with farming so do both with tourism.

H5. The PPG emphasises the link between tourism and employment and quotes from the English Tourist Board strategy with its primary objective of balancing the needs of visitors, host communities and the environment and hunting, as a tourist activity, has long successfully achieved that balance.

H6. The PPG then outlines government support for tourism saying that the government is committed to encouraging tourism in Britain while at the same time conserving those qualities in the environment that are a major attraction for tourism It follows, insofar as hunting is a tourist activity, it enjoys government support; it is certainly a major attraction for tourism in terms of spectacle, heritage and sport.

H7. The PPG goes on to emphasise the need to maximise the economic and employment benefits that tourism can bring including underpinning employment in hunting, in particular, and in service industries such as hotels, farriery and livery stables in general.

H8. The PPG then goes on to express the government's commitment to promoting geographical and seasonal spread of tourism and hunting is a tourist activity which is geographically widely spread as well as being seasonal, usefully so, since it largely takes place in the winter months when the rural tourist industry is at its lowest ebb.

H9. At Paragraph 3.14 the PPG says that Tourism benefits from a range of government assistance made available to cultural, artistic and sporting activities. Hunting has contributed to art and culture and is a sporting activity, but so far has not enjoyed government assistance, nor hitherto needed it until now when its abolition is sought.

H10. Finally, insofar as it has a bearing on hunting, the PPG observes that rural areas, through the beauty of the landscape, apparently less intensive lifestyles and obvious historic continuity of building attract a growing number of tourists and hunting is an integral part of the landscape which it has assisted in creating and maintaining, and of the less intensive lifestyle which contributes to that attraction.

H11. From this review of PPG advice, one concludes, ethical matters apart, that hunting is entirely in line with relevant government planning policy.

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3. THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

3.2. Concerning country houses, they of course do not owe their existence entirely to hunting, but hunting did - and does - play a major part in their function and design which deserves to be recognised.

3.3. Concerning function, many land owners would have spent their winters in town, were it not for the winter attraction which hunting represents. It is no coincidence that the eighteenth century saw both a surge in the building of country houses and in the popularity of hunting.

3.4. Concerning design, the original country villas which Palladio created were essentially farmhouses, the living quarters on a "piano nobile" in a central block with stables and other service buildings flanking them. The fact that the principal living rooms were slightly elevated brought their windows level with the eyes, not of a pedestrian, but of a horseman.

3.5. The English eighteenth century adoption of the Palladian style was not unconnected with the desire to create an appropriate stage for a meet of hounds, with mounted followers waiting in front of the house, horses being led round from the stables, hounds approaching from across the park and, finally, the master descending his front steps ready to mount his waiting horse and lead the field away.

3.6. Today privilege and pageant, in some quarters, meets with disapproval. On the other hand people flock to see the buildings which are the product of that privilege and pageant.

3.7. If they are to understand them, however, they must from time to time have the opportunity of seeing them function in the way for which they were designed. It is no surprise that the previous owners of some National Trust properties requested that hunting should continue to be part of the life of those properties. In heritage and interpretation terms, it is a matter of regret that those wishes have not always been honoured. The understanding of such properties would be still further diminished if hunting were to be abolished nationwide.

3.8. It may seem extraordinary that such a massive contribution to our heritage should have been partly prompted by the pursuit of a small, inedible and verminous animal, but so it is. If later generations should conclude that the animal pursued suffered unnecessarily, surely such alleged suffering is far outweighed by the great legacy which the country house has handed down to us.

3.9. The same can be said of hunt buildings, designed specifically for the requirement of breeding, maintaining, separating and feeding packs of hounds. The finest of these are brilliant examples of design for purpose, linked to a concern for symmetry and appearance. The text book example which kennel builders turn to was that set out in Peter Beckford's classic Thoughts on Hunting written in 1779, the plan for which is shown in Figure 1.

3.10. In the case studies which follow, photographs and plans of hunt kennels are shown. These include the fine listed buildings of the Meynell Hunt, the equally fine but inexplicably unlisted buildings of the Cottesmore and the skilful near contemporary adaptation of a former Gothick folly which is home to the FitzWilliam. Much more modest are the buildings of the South Shropshire Hunt, which nonetheless personify the poet Somerville's advice that kennels should be erected "upon some little eminence" so as to catch healthy breezes as likewise are the kennels of the Cattistock and the Puckeridge.

3.11. As has been noted, PPG advice points to the listing of such buildings, some are listed, but many more should be and perhaps will need to be, for historical record, if hunting is to be abolished.

3.12. On the other hand, if it is not, PPG advice that buildings are best maintained if used for the manner for which they were designed will continued to be honoured.

3.13. A middle course might be that those hunts with kennels which are listed and houses which were primarily, or to a significant degree, designed for hunting should continue to be allowed to operate.

3.14. As a warning, however, Figure 2 shows Peter Beckford's own kennels after they had been converted into cottages. As can be seen, they bear very little relationship to their original form, as shown in Figure 1. Such a fate could befall the remainder of hunting's built heritage if the buildings concerned cease to have their original function.

3.15. As has been shown, PPG advice is also concerned with the setting of listed buildings, but this will be addressed in the next section, Landscape.

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4. LANDSCAPE

4.1. Hunting landscapes fall into three categories:

• Mountain and moorland
• Farmland and woodland
• Parkland

4.2. The first of these categories would be little altered if hunting were to be abolished, in landscape terms. On the other hand, horsemen and hounds are themselves a quintessential part of such a landscape, their movements and speed dictated by the quarry they pursue. That would be lost.

4.3. Farmland and woodland, however, would significantly change, unless their conservation were funded from other sources. Hunting today stems from the eighteenth century enclosure acts. The discovery that hedges were not only a good habitat for foxes but were also challenging barriers for horsemen to jump greatly increased hunting's popularity. Today the reverse is happening. Modern agriculture, if only economic factors prevailed, would lead to the removal of those hedges. Equally, modern forestry, if economic factors only were to prevail, would concentrate on large planted areas, rather than the spinneys and coverts (itself a hunting expression) of the quintessential hunting country. It is just such linear and "stepping stone" habitat which PPG advice recommends should be retained.

4.4. The Game Conservancy Trust is currently quantifying the degree to which hunts are helping maintain such coverts. They could obviously be maintained without them, but at a cost which can also be quantified, since the MAFF Stewardship Scheme currently provides an over-subscribed grant system for the maintenance of farmland habitats not otherwise financed.

4.5. Whether or not hunting is abolished or modified, it will be essential to record for posterity the part which hunting has played in the landscape. This could be achieved by the designation of Historic Hunting Landscapes (HHLs). These would typically represent a relatively self-contained area within a hunting country where one might expect, or have expected, to spend a morning or an afternoon hunting. Typically the area would contain a fine mix of hedgerows, natural obstacles such as steams and small blocks of woodland. These one would identify as well as the places where hounds met and one would also outline a typical run.

4.6. In the seven attached case studies those intimately associated with the hunts were invited to indicate a typical area which might be used as an example.

4.7. Obviously HHLs would form a network with other HHLs, though some would be isolated in the middle of untypical hunting terrain.

4.8. An HHL would either serve as an historic record, in the event of abolition, as an area where, exceptionally, hunting might continue in some modified arrangement or, finally, as an area particularly to be cherished, so as to raise general public understanding and appreciation, if hunting is to continue more-or-less in its present form.

4.9. Of the three options, the last two are to be preferred, in heritage and conservation terms. Just in the same way that it is recognised that listed buildings are best kept in the use for which they were originally designed, the same would surely apply to such a listed landscape. Further, to really appreciate such landscapes one needs to see, from time to time, the purpose for which they were designed. The photographs in the case studies all show these landscapes devoid of horse and hound. An empty theatre can be an attractive building, but it only comes to life when filled with players and audience. So too the hunting landscape.

4.10. The third category, parkland, is, with the first, the oldest of our hunting landscapes. However, in the eighteenth century, whereas it continued to be valued as a setting for a house at its centre - and indeed developed as such - lack of obstacles to jump made such a country less inviting to horsemen grown accustomed to the challenges of enclosed farmland. Such landscapes are already listed, as PPG advice indicates, by English Heritage as historic parkland. Such parkland would probably survive without hunting but at a cost. Further, to fully appreciate such areas, one should also from time to time see them put to the sort of use for which they were originally designed. This was hunting deer rather than the fox, but still with horsemen and hounds galloping between the trees across a well grazed sward - while the New Forest does not strictly speaking fall into this parkland category, it is ironic that the use for which William the Conqueror first established it - hunting deer - was voluntarily disbanded in the face of mounting opposition, so that its original use no longer survives. It would be a calamity, albeit on a smaller scale, if the parks surrounding our great houses were no longer hunted.

4.11. While the physical character of parkland may not be at risk if hunting is curtailed, its maintenance could however fall back further upon the public purse. This is because the attraction of living in and maintaining a large historic country house would diminish if its owner could no longer have the pleasure of hunting.

4.12. Lastly, one comes to the matter of hunting landscapes, of whatever category, being part of the setting of listed buildings, be they hunt kennels or country houses. Insofar as hunting conserves that setting, PPG advice surely points to its continuation, ethical matters aside. This would either be without restraint within an entire hunting country or in certain areas round the buildings concerned. As PPG advice clearly indicates, it is a matter of fact and degree.

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5. RECREATION

5.1. Hunting provides recreation for an almost unique range of age and ability. It can be enjoyed from 8 to 80. Small children on ponies can keep up with their middle aged parents on thoroughbred hunters, while grandparents need never be far behind on more staid animals. The disabled of all ages can find themselves far more mobile on a horse, and certainly with a better view than that to be achieved from a wheelchair. After the First World War, it was not unusual for a man who had lost a leg to come out hunting side-saddle.

5.2. Some would argue that drag hunting is just as satisfying. Not so because in drag hunting you never have a blank or a slow day. It is no coincidence that a philosopher such as Roger Scruten should take to hunting. Hunting indeed makes philosophers of us all, chartered town planners included. That is because it is a sport of contrasts, led by a small animal which can disappear down burrows, drains or through hedgerows and which knows its terrain far more intimately than any man towing a drag. Further, the relationship between the sport and the countryside would cease to be so intimate, since the only objective would be to give followers an exciting ride, removing the need to maintain woodland and hedgerows as habitat and the opportunity for followers to reflect on the landscape as they wait for hounds to find.

5.3. Hunting is also the backbone of other equestrian sports. Point-to-point races are specifically designed for racing horses that have been hunted. If hunting were to be abolished, the whole object of the point-to-point calendar would be lost.

5.4. Hunting is also the backbone of England's once (and one hopes future) pre-eminence in international horse trials. Recent horse trial deaths have been blamed upon lack of training in the hunting field where both horse and rider gain a sixth sense in negotiating the unexpected.

5.5. Hunting is also the backbone of the Pony Club with its training of children in the care of ponies and the skill of riding. The spirit would certainly go out of such clubs were hunting to be abolished, because a young child of very little experience can gain a sense of confidence and independence in the sport of hunting, since it can be enjoyed at all levels.

5.6. Hunting is also the backbone of the Riding for the Disabled movement where many riders may be too disabled to venture into the hunting field and may indeed need a helper to walk beside them. That helper is putting back into the community some of the pleasure that he or she has obtained from the hunting field. Again, the motivation for such work would be lost with the abolition of hunting.

5.7. Next comes the matter of recreation from the horse's point of view. Were it not for recreation (and very limited opportunities in the police, the army and timber haulage) the horse would today have no practical use. The abolition of hunting would not amount to the abolition of the horse, but it is the only sport in which jumping serves a purpose - keeping up with hounds in pursuit of vermin which needs culling - rather than jumping a succession of obstacles in a show ring or on the race track. The Princess Royal has observed that the best way in which the horse can be preserved is to give it a worthwhile job to do. Hunting is surely just such a job, and uniquely so.

5.8. Horses undoubtedly enjoy hunting, however, as anyone knows who has seen them prick their ears at the sound of hounds, as do the hounds themselves.

5.9. The terms of this inquiry do not permit speculation about the fox, but it would seem that hunting, therefore, provides sport and recreation for all concerned, including the foot or car follower.

5.10. It fully complies, therefore, with PPG advice that sport and recreation be sustained and promoted.

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6. TOURISM

6.1. Hunting has always been an essential part of tourism, not least because it involves an animal upon which you can tour, or at least could with comfort prior to the advent of motor traffic.

6.2. In the winter, it was a comfortable way to tour around the country, moving from hunt to hunt and putting up in public houses or hospitable hunting households.

6.3. With the coming of the train, tourism became more universal. The train would carry you to the seaside in the summer, which saw the growth of the seaside resort. However, it would also carry you to hunting countries in the winter, resulting in the growth of hunting resorts such as Melton Mowbray or the fictional Laverick Wells where the old might "take the waters" while the young went hunting. Laverick Wells' creator, Surtees, also created Mr Jorrocks, the hunting grocer down from town. The very word "tour" comes into the title of the book about his next most famous character, the eponymous Soapy Sponge of Soapy Sponge's Sporting Tour.

6.4. Today, country house hotels specialise in hunting weekends. Whole hunts may visit another hunt's country and the public houses, livery stables, farriers and all others concerned can but benefit.

6.5. On a more passive level, a remarkable proportion of country pubs have hunting prints decorating their saloon bars, while many serve Huntsman Ale and have hunting scenes depicted on their signs, declaring them to be called The Fox, The Hare and Hounds, The Fox and Hounds, The Merry Huntsman and so on.

6.6. Many country pubs also delight in giving their visitors, from time to time, the opportunity of seeing hounds meet in their forecourt. For every disgruntled landlord who complains that he gives free drinks to riders who possibly never darken his door from meet to meet, there is a landlord who is equally happy to hang a photograph of the hunt by his pub in his bar.

6.7. The visitor, particularly from abroad, surely thrills to be aware of this living part of our heritage. Hunts bring the tourist to England, just as much as the beefeaters at the Tower of London and the guardsmen at Buckingham Palace - not least because they are useful, in that they have a vermin control function, rather than just being decorative.

6.8. That tourist attraction would be diminished with the abolition of hunting and the Americans, at least, would not appreciate the ethics behind it. America has embraced and adopted English hunting traditions. We have given cricket and rugger to the world and largely lost them in our own country. It would be unfortunate, not least at the tourist level, if we were likewise to export our hunting tradition, whilst forsaking it in our own country.

6.9. As demonstrated, PPG advice promotes tourism. Hunting does and can continue to play a very significant part in that objective.

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7. COMMUNITY

7.1. Much has been said about the collapse of village and rural community life. The village shop, the village school and the village church are often closed or poorly attended. The village pub may likewise be half empty, except perhaps when there is a meet of the hounds.

7.2. The village street is either deserted or a racetrack for through traffic. A countryman is reliant on the car and is unlikely to see his neighbour. Increasingly, people are becoming insular, staying at home watching the television and being as isolated from their neighbours as if they were in an urban block of flats - or so is the observation of a chartered town planner living in the countryside.

7.3. It used to be said of village life that all levels of society mixed easily, whether they lived in the great house or the tiniest cottage. They would meet walking in the village street, in the village shop, the village pub or the church porch. They would talk together, because they had a common interest in their community. Obviously, there was a social hierarchy, but at least there was social intercourse.

7.4. The only exception to this loss of community spirit is in areas where there is a common interest. In the summer this may be on the village cricket pitch but that does not take social intercourse far beyond the cricket pavilion. By contrast, in the winter, hunting brings people on their horses to their neighbours' front doors. Not for nothing is a gathering of hounds before hunting called a "meet". Sense of community is enjoyed by those on horseback and on foot. The matter extends not just to the hunting field but also to all the fundraising and social activities associated with it. The hunt supporter from the council house may find himself being entertained in the mansion in the great park talking with its owner with whom he or she would have little or no common ground, other than a passion for hunting. And there are many in between who meet on common ground. There is nothing like a hunting funeral to gather together a fine mix of people.

7.5. With the abolition of hunting, those doors would be closed and the social flow which permeates the whole of the hunting community would dry up.

7.6. That is of concern to a chartered town planner and it is of concern to the government, if their PPG advice is to be believed, since lively rural communities deserve to be fostered in areas where they still flourish. Certainly in the pat communities have been allowed to wither, such as the pit villages of County Durham. However, that was for economic reasons. If hunt servants are to be put out of work, it will be for ethical rather than economic reasons - a very different basis for disbanding a community.

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8.1. Hunting is one of England's most extensive land uses. Hunts have deemed planning permission to hunt which, if revoked, should lead to compensation.

8.2. Section 54A of the Planning Act states that development should be determined in accordance with statutory policy. In respect of the countryside, this invariably means that uses remain, for the most part, unchanged. Section 54A says that policy should be adhered to unless a material consideration indicates otherwise. Accordingly, the ethical case against hunting, whatever public or political opinion might be, would have to be irrefutably compelling in order to justify abolition.

8.3. The contribution made by hunting towards the built and landscape environment, sport, recreation, tourism and rural communities is shown to be in accordance with all government planning guidance. Such benefits would be lost or endangered, were hunting abolished.

8.4. A middle way could safeguard the best of hunting landscapes and the setting of country houses and hunt buildings. A basis for this could be the establishment of a Register of Historic Hunting Landscapes (HHLs)

8.5. Alternatively, hunting could be retained in more-or-less its present form, focusing upon HHLs which would be protected from urban and infrastructure encroachment. Hunts might voluntarily withdraw from less appropriate areas, while being recognised for the great contribution they make to the English way of life and the conservation of our heritage.

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Seven Case Studies

ROBIN BRYER

Date uploaded to site 26 April 2000