For many people dreaming of becoming a small-scale grower, regenerative farmer or land-based maker, the biggest barrier is not enthusiasm, skill or even hard work. It is access to land and the ability to live close enough to that land to manage it properly.
This is where One Planet Development in Wales has become such an important and inspiring model.
One Planet Development, often shortened to OPD, is a planning policy that allows people to live on land in the open countryside, provided they can prove that their home, livelihood and lifestyle will meet strict sustainability criteria. It is not simply a way to build a house in a field. It is a commitment to living differently: producing food, reducing consumption, creating a land-based income, restoring nature and living within the ecological limits of the planet.
For people who want to begin as small-scale growers, market gardeners, agroforesters, herbalists, woodland workers, seed growers or regenerative farmers, One Planet Development offers something rare: a planning pathway that recognises the need to live on or near the land when the land is also your livelihood.
And now, this thinking is beginning to spread beyond Wales. Cornwall has introduced Policy AL1: Regenerative and Low Impact Development, and Dartmoor National Park has adopted Policy 3.12: Low Impact Residential Development. These are not identical to the Welsh One Planet Development model, but they show that other parts of the UK are starting to take low-impact, land-based living seriously.
One Planet Development is a Welsh planning policy designed to support low-impact living and land-based livelihoods. It allows people to live in the countryside where they would not normally be granted permission for a new home, as long as the development meets demanding environmental, social and economic requirements.
The basic idea is that residents must live within a “one planet” level of resource use. In practice, this means reducing their ecological footprint, living in a very low-carbon way, producing a significant amount of their own food and income from the land, and improving the environmental quality of the site.
An OPD can be a single household, a small co-operative, or a larger community. It might include a low-impact home, growing areas, orchards, agroforestry, woodland, animals, compost systems, renewable energy, water harvesting, natural building, education spaces or small land-based enterprises.
But the key point is this: the home is justified because of the land-based project. The dwelling, the people and the land management plan are all linked together.
Small-scale regenerative farming often needs daily attention. Seedlings need watering, animals need checking, polytunnels need opening and closing, crops need harvesting at the right moment, and land restoration work takes constant observation.
For a conventional farm, the need to live on site is often accepted more readily. But for small-scale ecological growers, especially those starting with modest acreage and unconventional business models, planning permission can be much harder.
One Planet Development creates a possible route through this problem. It recognises that a smallholding, market garden or agroecological enterprise can be a serious land-based livelihood even if it does not look like conventional agriculture.
This is especially important for new entrants. Many young farmers, first-generation growers and people moving into regenerative agriculture do not inherit farms. They may begin with a few acres, a caravan, a compost toilet, a polytunnel and an enormous amount of determination. OPD gives these projects a framework in which they can be assessed — not just dismissed because they are small, unusual or outside the standard housing model.
One Planet Development is not an easy option. The criteria are strict, and applicants must provide a detailed management plan showing how the project will work. Practice Guidance – One Planet Development
The main requirements include:
Residents must show that their lifestyle will have a low ecological footprint. Welsh guidance sets an initial target of 2.4 global hectares per person or less, with a clear pathway towards 1.88 global hectares per person over time.
This means looking honestly at food, energy, transport, materials, waste and consumption. It is not enough to build a natural-looking home while continuing a high-consumption lifestyle. The whole way of living has to change.
The development must be land-based. The land should provide for the minimum needs of the residents in terms of food, income, energy and waste assimilation within five years.
For growers and regenerative farmers, this might include vegetable production, fruit, herbs, mushrooms, tree crops, eggs, fibre, timber, compost, nursery plants, education, craft products or other land-based enterprises.
The project does not have to make people wealthy. It can be low-income or subsistence-based. But it does need to show a realistic link between the land, the proposed livelihood and the number of people living there.
Applicants must justify why they need to live on the land. This might be because of livestock care, crop management, security, irrigation, processing, early starts, seasonal work or the practical requirements of running a land-based enterprise.
The dwelling is not treated as separate from the land. It is part of the overall land-use system.
Every OPD application needs a detailed management plan. This is the heart of the proposal.
The management plan usually covers the site vision, land use, food production, income, energy, water, waste, biodiversity, buildings, transport, community impact, phasing, monitoring and what will happen if the project fails.
In many ways, it is like a combined business plan, ecological design, lifestyle audit and planning agreement. Not exactly a weekend job with a cup of tea and a biro.
Buildings must be very low carbon in both construction and use. This often leads people towards natural materials, local timber, straw bale, roundwood, hemp, recycled materials, passive solar design, small footprints and renewable energy.
The home does not have to be primitive, but it does need to be genuinely low impact.
The development should enhance the environment or, at the very least, not significantly diminish environmental quality.
This is a vital part of the policy. OPD is not just about reducing harm; it is also about improving land. That might mean planting orchards, restoring hedgerows, increasing biodiversity, improving soil health, creating ponds, managing woodland, reducing erosion, increasing carbon storage and creating more resilient ecosystems.
Approved OPDs are monitored. Residents usually need to submit annual monitoring reports showing whether they are meeting the targets in their management plan. The plan is also reviewed over time.
This is one of the features that makes One Planet Development so different from ordinary planning permission. You are not just approved and then forgotten. The development remains tied to its stated purpose.
It helps new growers access land: One of the biggest benefits is that OPD can help people who are not from farming families get a foothold on the land. It offers a possible route for first-generation farmers, ecological growers, young families, co-operatives and people with limited capital.
It supports genuinely regenerative land use: OPD encourages people to think of land as a living system. Soil, water, biodiversity, trees, food production, wildlife and human livelihoods are all considered together.
This is exactly the kind of thinking regenerative agriculture needs.
It makes small farms more viable: Living on site can reduce costs, improve efficiency and make it easier to manage intensive small-scale systems. For market gardens, agroforestry projects or mixed smallholdings, being present on the land can be the difference between success and burnout.
It encourages low-carbon living: OPD is not just about producing food. It asks deeper questions about how we live: how much energy we use, how we travel, what we eat, how much we consume and what our homes are made from.
This is powerful because agriculture cannot be separated from lifestyle. A regenerative future needs both regenerative land management and lower-impact ways of living.
It can strengthen rural communities: Well-designed OPDs can provide local food, training, volunteering, open days, rural skills, ecological education and local employment. They can bring life back to underused land and create new rural livelihoods.
It creates living examples: Perhaps the most exciting benefit is that OPDs become real-life demonstration sites. They show what is possible. They are not just theories in reports; they are homes, gardens, orchards, compost heaps, solar panels, workshops, children, muddy boots and vegetables on the table.
That matters. People need to see alternatives working in the real world.
For all its promise, OPD is not a simple or easy route.
The application process can be demanding: The planning application requires a huge amount of evidence. Applicants need to understand planning, ecology, business planning, carbon, biodiversity, transport, water, waste, food production and building design. Many people need professional support, which can be expensive.
It can take years: Finding land, designing the project, preparing the management plan, applying for permission and responding to planners or objectors can take a long time. This can be stressful and financially draining.
The lifestyle is not easy: Living off-grid and running a land-based enterprise can be beautiful, but it is also hard work. There may be mud, cold winters, limited income, planning pressure, practical failures, loneliness and uncertainty.
The romantic dream of “living on the land” can meet the less romantic reality of blocked water filters, slug damage, broken fencing and trying to earn a living in February.
Income targets can be challenging: Small-scale farming is often financially difficult. OPD applicants need to show that the land can support the residents’ minimum needs. This requires realistic planning, diverse income streams and a good understanding of markets.
Not every site will work: Some land is too exposed, too remote, too ecologically sensitive, too inaccessible, too expensive or simply unsuitable for the proposed enterprise. OPD is not a magic key that unlocks all land.
There can be local opposition: Some rural communities worry about new buildings in the countryside, traffic, visual impact, waste, water, or whether the project is truly sustainable. Good communication and community engagement are essential.
It ties your home to your project: Because the dwelling is justified by the land-based lifestyle, residents must continue to meet the requirements of the management plan. This can feel restrictive. If the project fails, there may need to be an exit strategy.
Other FAQ from One Planet Council.
Cornwall has now adopted a policy that takes inspiration from similar low-impact development ideas. Policy AL1: Regenerative and Low Impact Development is part of Cornwall Council’s Climate Emergency Development Plan Document, adopted in February 2023.
This policy supports low-impact residential development where it forms part of a regenerative use of land. It is designed for unusually sustainable developments that deliver multiple environmental benefits in places where normal development would often be restricted.
Cornwall’s AL1 policy has a strong regenerative emphasis. It is not only about reducing damage, but about improving land, increasing biodiversity, sequestering carbon, supporting land-based livelihoods and creating local benefits.
Important themes include:
For aspiring regenerative farmers in Cornwall, this is hugely significant. It suggests that planning policy can begin to recognise small-scale, land-based, low-carbon living as part of the solution to the climate, housing and farming crises.
Cornwall’s version is not simply a copy of Welsh OPD. It uses the language of regenerative and low-impact development and places strong emphasis on measurable environmental gains. But the underlying idea is similar: people may be allowed to live on land where they can show that their presence enables a genuinely low-impact and regenerative land-use system.
Dartmoor National Park has also included low-impact residential development in its Local Plan through Policy 3.12: Low Impact Residential Development. – Dartmoor Local Plan 2018-2036
This policy allows low-impact residential development where strict criteria are met. Proposals must show a positive environmental, social and economic contribution, have low environmental impact, use suitable existing buildings where possible, and conserve or enhance the special qualities of the National Park.
Where a proposal is outside a settlement, it must require a countryside location, involve agriculture, forestry or horticulture, and be directly related to the land on which it is located.
Dartmoor’s policy also requires evidence such as a business and improvement plan, ecological footprint analysis, zero carbon analysis, landscape and biodiversity assessments, and transport planning. Permission is initially temporary for up to six years, with monitoring before permanent permission can be considered.
Because Dartmoor is a National Park, landscape and conservation issues are especially important. Any project must fit the character and special qualities of the area. This makes the bar high, but it also shows that low-impact living is being taken seriously even in protected landscapes.
One Planet Development in Wales, Cornwall’s AL1 policy and Dartmoor’s low-impact residential policy all point towards a bigger shift.
They recognise that the countryside should not only be shaped by large farms, commuter homes, second homes or speculative development. There is also a place for small-scale, land-based, ecologically responsible livelihoods.
This matters because the UK urgently needs:
These policies are not perfect. They are demanding, limited and still relatively unusual. But they offer a glimpse of what planning could become: a tool for ecological repair rather than just development control.
One Planet Development or similar low-impact planning routes may suit people who are serious about land-based living, not just looking for a cheaper house in the countryside.
It may be suitable if you want to:
But it is important to go in with eyes open. This route requires resilience, planning, practical skills, ecological understanding, financial realism and a willingness to be monitored.
A good starting point is to visit existing projects, speak to people who have gone through the process, study the policy guidance carefully, and begin developing a realistic land-based business and management plan.
One Planet Development is one of the most exciting planning ideas in the UK for people interested in regenerative farming, small-scale growing and low-impact living.
At its best, it offers a way for people to live lightly on the land while actively improving it. It supports new rural livelihoods, reconnects people with food production and creates practical examples of ecological living.
The fact that Cornwall and Dartmoor now have related policies shows that this idea is beginning to travel. Slowly, carefully and with plenty of paperwork — because this is planning, after all — but it is travelling.
For future growers, smallholders and regenerative farmers, that matters.
We need more people restoring soil, growing food, planting trees, managing water, building biodiversity and showing that another way of living is possible. One Planet Development is not the only answer, but it is a powerful doorway into that future.
