FARMERS wishing to diversify are to get extra help when going through the planning system.

A special guide to assist them through planning procedures, often considered to be a stumbling block for diversification schemes, is to be produced with the backing of several high profile groups.

Robert Goodwill, a Terrington farmer and Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, welcomed the move.

He said: "One of the biggest obstacles can be the planning process. In some cases you could argue council's actions are completely justifiable.

"For instance, an application to open a farm shop could have serious highways problems, but local authorities can be more obstructive than helpful in farm diversification."

Mr Goodwill himself met with resistance when he applied for permission to create a "green cemetery" on his land. He eventually won the battle but only after an expensive fight.

He said: "We had a particular problem with Ryedale District Council, but the application went to a public inquiry and we got full costs against the council, which was £20,000. Since the cemetery has been there, not one single person has complained about it."

The idea to produce the guide came from North Yorkshire County Council. The council created a "steering group" of interested parties including representatives from the National Farmers' Union (NFU), the Country Landowners' Association, the national park authorities and district councils in the region.

The steering group has since employed Reading Agricultural Consultants, who have wide experience of agricultural diversification, to produce the guide, which should be completed by the autumn.

A spokesman for the county council said the advice in the guide would differ from much of that already available. He said: "The guide is very much related to the planning system. It is not concerned with other types of advice, such as the financial side and grant applications.

"Instead it will look at the use of the planning system in respect of farm diversification."

North Yorkshire County Council's agricultural industry working group is to be updated on the guide's progress when it meets at 2.30pm on Thursday, at County Hall, Northallerton.