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Government seeks views on land use in England
The government is soliciting views from farmers, landowners, businesses and nature groups about how land can be used to deliver new housebuilding, energy infrastructure and towns.
In addition to delivering new homes, the consultation hopes to take on a new strategic approach to managing land use in England to give decision-makers the data they need to protect productive agricultural land, and boost Britain’s food security in a time of global uncertainty and a changing climate.
New data on how land is used will help to underpin the government’s Plan for Change and work towards its ambitious 1.5 million homes target, while delivering critical infrastructure, securing clean power, protecting farmland and restoring the natural world.
The consultation will seek views from farmers, landowners, businesses and nature groups across the length and breadth of the country.
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Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “This new approach will make better use of our land and grasp the opportunities to deliver new homes and infrastructure in the areas most in need, achieving win-win results for both development and the environment.
“Our Plan for Change is going even further to dismantle the barriers holding back growth, so we can raise living standards, get more families onto the property ladder, and deliver a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
The Land Use Framework will provide the principles, advanced data and tools to support decision-making between competing interests. As part of a national conversation, there will be workshops across the country, bringing farmers and landowners to the table to develop the framework together.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “The biggest threat to nature and food security is the climate crisis, which threatens our best farmland, food production and the livelihoods of farmers.
“As we deliver our mission for the UK to become a clean energy superpower as part of the Plan for Change, we will ensure a proper balance between food security, nature preservation and clean energy.”
The government believes it can protect food security and kick-start housebuilding, while rolling out renewable energy to make the UK a clean energy superpower.
Dr Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said: “Too often the health of the natural environment, farming and ambitions for the built environment are presented as competing interests, with protecting nature portrayed as a barrier to development and food security.
“The fact is, though, that we can and must do all these things, and by taking a more strategic view of how we use land, we can deliver against government’s stretching legal targets to halt and reverse nature decline, while also enabling the new homes and infrastructure the country needs, including renewable power and reservoirs, while at the same time protecting food security and building resilience to climate change impacts.”
The government has announced a number of consultations since it came to power on hope value, Right to Buy, the future rent settlement, and insurance fee increases for leaseholders.
Most recently, it has proposed a reworking of homelessness grant funding to help councils shift their spending away from temporary accommodation and towards prevention.
