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Farming Today: 17/04/23 New name for national park; rural planning; fishing in Scotland.

17/04/23 New name for national park; rural planning; fishing in Scotland.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 17/04/23 New name for national park; rural planning; fishing in Scotland.

Brecon Beacons national park renamed. Rural planning struggles. Go-fish zones in Scotland.

A new name for Brecon Beacons national park: Bannau Brycheiniog National Park or ‘The Bannau’ for short.
Planning dilemmas for farming businesses.
Fishing in Scotland.

Brecon Beacons national park is to be known as Bannau Brycheiniog national park. The switch to the Welsh language name takes effect on its 66th anniversary. Park bosses say the name change will help celebrate and promote the area's culture and heritage. It's part of a wider overhaul of how the park is managed, to try and address serious environmental challenges.

Planning is a subject which farmers talk about a lot at the moment: some say while the government in England is encouraging them to diversify their businesses, planning rules and local councils are making that difficult, if not impossible. The Country Land and Business Association or CLA says a survey of 600 members reveals that what it calls 'outdated and under resourced planning procedures' are costing them money, and three quarters say they've been forced to abandon investment plans. We speak to a family run commercial nursery in Surrey, trying to build a new house on land that's being planted as the business is expanding. We also hear from the think tank, the Local Government Information Service.

Campaigners in Scotland are calling for special 'go-fish zones' to be introduced. Conservationists from "Open Seas" say the areas could form part of plans by the Scottish Government to designate a tenth of seas as highly-protected, where no commercial activity would be allowed. Some fishermen say they fear going out of business with the continuing squeeze being placed on them.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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17/04/23 New name for national park; rural planning; fishing in Scotland.

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