Strawberry growing in polytunnels

By Keir Mackenzie
Inside Out, BBC South East

Strawberries from Kent are eaten by tennis fans at Wimbledon

Polytunnels were first introduced in 1993 and Kent now has hundreds of acres of farmland covered with them - more than any other county in the UK.

In many areas of the country planning rules, as far as polytunnels is concerned, are not clear.

Opposition to the constructions has been growing in recent years, and some projects have failed to get planning approval.

The disputes are set to increase while the confusion continues.

What's at stake here is, ultimately, the future of the English countryside David Hackforth

It might be our most famous soft fruit but the strawberry is igniting a hard battle across the south east. It is a battle between farmers fighting to make a profit and residents fighting to protect their countryside. It is a battle over polytunnels.

They are creeping over our countryside and yet there is a tangled web of planning law governing them, which experts say is a complete mess.

Planning expert David Hackforth says: "What's at stake here is, ultimately, the future of the English countryside."

They were first introduced in 1993 and Kent now has hundreds of acres of farmland covered with them - more than any other county in the UK, and that is bad news for Jim and Susan Simpson. They moved from the North of England to West Peckham in Kent for the breathtaking view, but it is a view that is slowly being eroded.

Strawberries growing inside one of Kent's polytunnels

Jim says "What we've seen developing is a plague of plastic basically."

The polytunnels Jim objects to belong to Hugh Lowe Farms, which is spread over 1300 acres. The farmer wants polytunnels to cover over 400 of those acres, that is the equivalent of 200 football pitches, but for Jim and Susan that is simply too much. They are leading a campaign to see the plans drastically reduced.

So why are battles like these only taking place now? When polytunnels were first introduced they were considered to be permitted agricultural development - that means farmers could build them without planning permission. But in 2006 that all changed.

Over in Waverley in Surrey campaigners fighting the spread of polytunnels on a farm there took their case to the High Court and won. So for the first time, farmers in that region had to apply for planning permission to put polytunnels up.

You certainly can't get quality levels, without the use of polythene Jason Davis Baker

However, that decision in Waverley has not set a legal precedent in other counties, in fact, it has just confused things with planning experts unsure what needs permission and what does not.

David Hackforth says: "There isn't a lot of case law to go on and the law is fairly ambiguous at the moment."

So it is within this confusing climate that farmers across the region are now making planning applications for polytunnels which they say are essential to their business.

Farmer Jason Davis Baker at Herne Hill Nurseries near Faversham where he grows strawberries in 10 acres of glass houses producing 1500 tons every year, but he needs to expand and with that in mind has put in application for polytunnels on 40 acres of nearby land.

Jim and Susan Simpson feel their views are being disturbed

Jason says: "You can't get the production levels, you certainly can't get quality levels, without the use of polythene."

Just like in West Peckham, there has been opposition by locals who are concerned about the landscape, and Herne Hill Nurseries have lost their battle to get planning permission.

It means the confusion continues, and come next summer residents and farmers look set for further disputes over the state of their landscape.