Ploughing your own furrow

According to the Arable and Forest Land Protection Act of 1995, changing the predefined purpose of land can occur in one of two stages: firstly, in the interim period, whilst waiting for a decision on the site development conditions (WZ) the investor can acquire consent to change the local development plan (PZP); and, secondly, when applying for a building permit, decision can be obtained on redefining the land’s status as destined for agricultural use.The ‘easy’ versionThe second basic issue is soil quality class. A decision to take land out of agricultural production can be issued for mineral soil of quality classes from I to IIIb and organic soils of IV to VI quality classes.  Trouble may occur when the land the investor has set his heart on is of a high class (I – IIIb), or is of organic origin. Should there be little good agricultural land in the region, the local authorities may order the fertile humus layer to be removed from the plot for use on other po