The government has failed to deliver a pledge to reduce planning barriers, say rural business leaders.

Rural businesses continue to beheld back by the delays, inefficiencies and inflexibilities of the planning system, said the Country Land and Business Association.

A year has past since ministers committed to the delivery of a 10-point plan for boosting productivity in rural areas, said the CLA.

A consultation on reforms followed the 10-point plan which pledged to review planning rules that were holding back communities, jobs and growth.

But the CLA said rural communities had seen no outcomes and inaction was harming all those who lived and worked in the countryside.

"Businesses across our countryside are working through tough times," said CLA President Ross Murray. "There is a bright future ahead for many but it requires investment.

"It is hard enough for businesses to take steps to invest but it can become impossible when faced with confusing, slow and obstructive planning rules."

For many rural businesses, the best opportunities lay in diversification and developing alternative income streams such as housing, leisure or retail, said Mr Murray.

"That is why the Rural Planning Review announced a year ago was so important.

We, along with many others, engaged constructively with the review laying out a number of simple improvements that would have an immediate beneficial effect.

"Ministers must now act. Every day of further delay is damaging given the urgent need to boost investment and growth across the rural economy."

Reforms proposed by the CLA include expanding the scope of successful permitted development rights to make it easier and more certain for farmers to invest in their businesses.

This included investment in farm shops, polytunnels, on-farm reservoirs, new agricultural buildings or the conversion of redundant rural buildings into homes.

Significant numbers of moribund buildings had been brought back into use, said the CLA, but half of all applications were still being refused.

Mr Murray also expressed disappointment at the failure to deliver a fast track planning certification process – also known as "Planning-in-Principle" – that was promised in the plan.

He said: "This innovation would have made a big difference in terms of giving businesses vital confidence that they would secure planning approval before making substantial investments.

"The change imposed on the government by the House of Lords, limiting this new right to housing developments only, is a major setback.

"We urge ministers to reintroduce the measure at the first opportunity in this Parliament."

A government spokesman said ministers were determined to help rural economies thrive.

The government was devolving more powers, improving mobile and broadband coverage and reducing red tape for rural businesses.

It had also extended permitted development rights and issued guidance to make it easier to convert underused buildings into other businesses and much needed homes.

This has already led to an increase in approvals of around two thirds for housing.

Further details of the review would be published soon, said the spokesman.