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that percentage may not be the percentage actually needed to sustain the population, have work, grow food, have transport, leisure, moors, mountains and other ‘un-settlable’ land. However, I think anyone who argues that this is not a crowded island is on distinctly shaky ground.
The UK is empty!
Far too much land is given over to agriculture, about 78%, which only accounts for about 2.5% of the UK economy. This poor performing over subsidised industry is absorbing land that could be better used economically in commerce and for much needed spacious higher quality homes for the population. Much of the land is paid to remain idle out of our taxes.
The UK could actually abandon most of agriculture and import most of its food, as food is obtainable cheaper elsewhere.
The overall agricultural subsidy is over £5 billion per year. This is £5 billion to an industry whose total turnover is only £15 billion per annum. Unbelievable. This implies huge inefficiency in the agricultural industry, about 40% on the £15 billion figure. Applied to the acres agriculture absorbs, and approximately 16 million acres are uneconomic.
Apply real economics to farming and you theoretically free up 16 million acres, which is near 27% of the total UK land mass.
This is land that certainly could be put to better use for the population of the UK. Allowing the population to spread out and live amongst nature is highly desirable and simultaneously lowering land prices.
50% of the EU budget is allocated to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CAP is supporting a lifestyle of a very small minority of country dwellers in a poor performing industry. In effect that is its prime function.
Look at Dr Duncan Pickard on the CAP - Farming off the Dole. CAP keeps land under agriculture that could be put to better uses.
http://www.cooperativeindividualism....griculture.pdf
DATA ON LAND USAGE
The land cover of Great Britain is 23.5m hectares. Taken from the Office of National Statistics, in 2002, usage was as follows:
- Settled land - 1.8m hectares. 7.65% of the land mass.
- Agricultural land - 10.8m hectares. 45.96% of the land mass.
- Semi-natural land, with much uses as agricultural land - 7.0m hectares. 29.78% of the land mass.
- Woodland - 2.8m hectares. 11.91% of the land mass
- Water bodies - 0.3m hectares. 1.28% of the land mass.
- Sundry, largely transport infrastructure - 0.8m hectares. 3.42% of the land mass.
The Town & Country Planning act is in effect an act to
control the population, rather than ensure adequate agricultural land is available, protect areas of natural beauty or promote first class habitation. The latter it certainly does not do.
Notwithstanding that, there are 64,000 Hectares of 'brownfield site' in the UK.
Countryside organisations are demanding all city brownfield sites be built on. Many foolishly think all new developments can be on brownfield sites
despite only 14% of demand being catered for on current brownfield sites. This should be resisted as we now have an ideal opportunity to leave most of these sites vacant, cleaned up and made natural again by turning them into parks, woods and encouraging wildlife for the local population to enjoy. This is an ideal opportunity to improve brownfield areas, improving the quality of life of urban dwellers. Righting the wrongs of the incompetent planners of the past. Areas like Hampstead Heath could be actively encouraged. Woods in towns and cities would also be a great bonus. The deliberate differentiation between town and country requires abolition as the Town & Country planning act attempts to divide. Using the words town and country sets the tone. It creates conflict. It creates two separate societies. It creates distrust.
Now, all the props are... not quite gone and we have had raging house price inflation fueled by irresponsible banks. That has been the major driver of higher prices. Not land shortage.
Artificial land shortages ratchets up land prices. The reason for
Economist Fred Harrison....
"Any good economist will tell you,
as people's real disposable incomes rise, that money ends up in one place, and one place only, the LAND MARKET. As there is growth land values rise, and it should rise. Except, the problem occurred when that increase in value went into private pockets instead of going into services: highways, hospitals, schools and so on, that created that value in the first place"
..
..
"This is the sources of our problem, not bankers, big bonuses, sub-prime mortgages in America and the other excuses they have.
This is the heart of the problem of the market economy, we have to address it. There has to be political consensus, there has to consensus, with no body playing party politics"
The above is at. 3 min 35 secs
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