What is there to stop these spaces from only being used temporarily to grow food, and then being used for something else?
Of course, we are not in a position to be prescriptive about land use changing. We will ask applicants to give an assessment of the likelihood of the land being available for food growing over a reasonable period for food production – preferably at least several years. However, some sites are only available temporarily. But they are still worth putting into production for a short period, as long as the growers are aware of this from the start. If a site isnt bound by such restrictions, we would encourage those who are managing the growing to secure some agreement with the landowner for growing to take place on the site for a reasonable period e.g. at least 5 to 10 years.
