The UK Needs Farmland for Food Production — Not Another Lorry Park

At a time when the UK’s ability to feed itself is steadily declining, we cannot afford to lose any more farmland. Yet the proposed truck stop in Hougham would do exactly that—destroy prime agricultural land that is vital for local production, biodiversity, and the long-term resilience of our community.

This is not just a local issue. It sits within a national crisis that is already affecting every household in the country.

A Nation Increasingly Unable to Feed Itself

The UK food sector employs 4.2 million people, making it the largest manufacturing sector in the country. Agriculture covers 69% of all UK land, demonstrating how central food production is to our economy, our health, and our national security.But despite this, Britain’s food self-sufficiency has been falling for decades. Government data shows just how stark the decline has been:

• 1980: 72%

• 1984: 78% (the highest on record)

• 2000: 67%

• 2010: 62%

• 2023: 62%

In other words, we now produce barely six-tenths of the food we consume—a dramatic drop from the 1980s. This decline is happening at the same time as the UK is experiencing sharp rises in food prices, which increased by 36% between 2015 and 2021 alone.

Every acre of farmland matters. And once it is lost to concrete, it is lost forever.

Hougham’s Prime Agricultural Land Is Under Threat

The plan for the new truck stop in Hougham would remove productive farmland from use permanently. This land currently contributes to local farming, local employment, and the UK’s already stretched capacity to feed itself.

Replacing thriving agricultural fields with vast expanses of tarmac and vehicle infrastructure does nothing to support food security. Instead, it adds to the national problem by shrinking the amount of land we rely on to grow food at a time when the UK is only 62% self-sufficient.

The proposed developments in Hougham are not brownfield sites. They are not unused. They are not low-value spaces.They are prime agricultural fields—and losing them would be a disastrous step backwards.

Why Our Community Must Stand Firm

When developers claim that this lorry park is necessary, they fail to acknowledge the wider cost: reduced food production, increased import dependence, higher vulnerability to global supply disruptions, and lasting environmental damage to our countryside.

Here in Hougham, we have a responsibility to protect the land that feeds us—not only for ourselves but for future generations.

Our Message Is Simple

• The UK needs farmland for food production.

• We cannot keep sacrificing agricultural land while our food self-sufficiency falls.

• Building truck stops on prime farmland in Hougham is short-sighted, unnecessary, and harmful.

  
  

We are calling on residents, councillors, MPs, and anyone concerned about the UK’s future to oppose these plans and stand with us in defending the land we rely on.