Stuart Anderson MP hopes that the extension of Permitted Development Rights would speed up low-impact conservation projects as part of efforts to unleash rural prosperity in South Shropshire.
Stuart's request is part of his response to a consultation on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, which opened on 16th December 2025 and closes on 30th March 2026.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"It was excellent to attend the official opening of Imperial Bricks new headquarters at Crowgreaves Farm in Bridgnorth on 26th September 2025. I was delighted to see how the site has been transformed into a thriving commercial facility. What was once a farm with one employee now supports fifty times that number. Following my visit, I have urged the Government to extend Permitted Development Rights - including Listed Building Consent Orders, which could enable sympathetic changes to heritage assets. This would conserve their historic value, while minimising environmental impact. In turn, this would unleash rural prosperity in South Shropshire - tackling the rural productivity gap and ensuring that historic sites like these remain part of our future."
The consultation aims to make it easier for farmers to "diversify and develop" their infrastructure, including reservoirs, greenhouses, polytunnels, and farm shops.
It also follows Stuart's visit to Crowgreaves Farm in Bridgnorth on 26th September 2025, where he cut the ribbon at the official opening of Imperial Bricks' new headquarters.
The developers have sympathetically modernised the site to enable the expansion of businesses like Imperial Bricks, with more than fifty people now working on the site.
Stuart hailed the development as a great rural employment success story, which will help to unlock economic growth and rural prosperity in South Shropshire by supporting new jobs and training opportunities.
Following his visit, Stuart has urged the government to extend permitted development rights, which enable sympathetic changes to heritage assets.
Stuart has said that this would conserve their historic significance while allowing for their continued use and ensuring environmental impact is minimised.
Under the last government, the extension of Permitted Development Rights (PDRs) enabled farmers to more easily diversify their earnings.
These changes gave farmers more freedom to develop disused buildings into farm shops, new homes, and sporting facilities that benefit their local communities.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has found that the lack of PRDs in the heritage sector results in an extra 30,000 planning applications each year.
These applications could be replaced with Listed Building Consent Orders (LBCOs), which streamline the process and enable sensible upgrades including energy efficiency measures.
Stuart believes that the extension of LBCOs, which are drafted by the heritage sector with full public consultation, would greatly reduce backlogs in Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).
This would also support growth in the construction sector, which shrank in November at the fastest pace since the pandemic amid ongoing economic uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget.
In South Shropshire, homes across more than eighty conservation areas could benefit from these changes. This would allow them to be sympathetically restored.
Stuart believes that this would help to unleash rural prosperity in South Shropshire and close the rural productivity gap.
This responds to research which has found that overall productivity in the most rural areas is only 82% of the average for England excluding London.
On average, productivity, earnings, and ease of access to further education are all lower in rural areas. Closing these gaps could generate billions of pounds for the economy each year.
