For some years, policy makers have been calling for an overarching land use framework and asking themselves how can a land use framework best address food security, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature recovery challenges within England’s finite land area. A House of Lords committee undertook a major piece of work on the subject that was published in December 2022 and it was also covered in a UK Parliament Horizon Scan publication in 2024.
With the current government’s drive for growth through housing and infrastructure development, a national land use framework remains high on the political agenda and is about to go out to consultation as a “national conversation” on land use.
The press release includes quotations of support from the heads of no fewer than 11 organisations – which demonstrates the extent of the political momentum that has already been gathered. That will make it more difficult for the likes of the CLA to sustain an effective opposition to it.
Depending on how it is used, a land use framework could be a useful geospatial tool for optimising land uses and making informed decisions about development and other land use change by land managers and local planning authorities. At its worst, it could be a straightjacket that could prevent any development or land use change other than in accordance with the adopted version of the land use framework – in other words the means by which land use is controlled by central government with little or no flexibility at owner occupier level to do otherwise. An example could be the designation of certain areas of less productive land as areas for “nature recovery” and not for food production, and the knock-on effect that could have for anyone wishing to continue to operate a farming business within those designated areas.
It is therefore probably one of the more important consultations with which anyone with an interest in the ownership and management of land will wish to engage. A link to the consultation document can be found here.
