International award for Brighton food-growing

An innovative Brighton & Hove planning policy has been awarded an Honourable Mention by the World Green Building Council; it was announced at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw.

Brighton & Hove has pioneered an approach to support community food-growing through the planning system. The authority has introduced a Planning Advice Note (PAN) to encourage planners and developers to include food-growing proposals in their planning applications. This has resulted in an increase from 1 to 38% in the amount of approved applications that contain food growing.

Successful projects since the PAN was introduced in 2011, include plans for edible landscaping, rooftop allotments, productive green walls and roofs and planters on balconies. A major city centre development providing student accommodation has proposed raised beds for growing, green walls and fruit trees as part of their application.

“From balcony planters to rooftop allotments, developers have really embraced the idea that food growing can be incorporated into new urban developments, in any way possible,” said Jess Crocker, Manager of the Harvest Project at the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership and added, “It’s fantastic to gain this international recognition for our work.”

The PAN was awarded the Honourable Mention alongside policies from Shanghai and Cape Town by the judges of the World Green Building Council Government Leadership Awards.

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