PRESS RELEASE

Date: 16^th September 2011

Brighton & Hove is the first Local Authority in the UK to adopt planning advice to encourage the provision of growing spaces in new developments as part of its commitment to sustainable development {1}. Food growing in urban areas is too often limited by lack of space, but this new advice encourages developers to make creative use of walls, roofs, balconies and edible landscaping at the start of the planning process.

There are multiple benefits to growing food in cities – creating access to outside space to improve physical and mental health, increasing biodiversity, and greening the urban landscape.  Living walls and roofs also improve the performance of buildings reducing energy use and carbon emissions.  Although not mandatory, encouraging developers to think about how food growing can be incorporated into the basic design of new developments will help achieve sustainability targets.

The advice will apply to new commercial, residential and mixed developments and is the result of collaboration between the City Council Planning department and Food Matters {2}, as part of Harvest Brighton and Hove {3}, a lottery funded project which supports more food growing in the city.

Clare Devereux, Food Matters Policy Director, said ‘we are proud to be the first city to adopt policy which encourages developers to include food growing in their designs – Brighton and Hove is leading the way in creating sustainable food systems in cities and this is yet another example of how to achieve this.’

ENDS

For more information contact:

1. Clare Devereux, Director, Tel: 01273 431 707, Mob: 07803 002 825

2. Jess Crocker, Harvest Manager, Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, Tel: 01237 431 700

Notes for Editors:

{1} The Planning Advice Note can be found at www.foodmatters.org

{2} Food Matters is a national organisation based in Brighton and Hove and works to create sustainable and fair food systems  www.foodmatters.org

{3} Harvest Brighton and Hove is a three-year, Big Lottery-funded project led by the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership to increase food growing and access to local food in the city.