Government launches “national conversation” on land use

Government launches “national conversation” on land use - Defra

The Government has launched a consultation on a new approach to Land Use empowering decision makers with the toolkit to protect the most productive agricultural land and boost food security.

New sophisticated data on how land is used will underpin the Government’s Plan for Change, supporting economic growth through building 1.5 million homes and 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.

The Government is today (Friday 31 January) launching a consultation on a new strategic approach to managing land use in England to give decision makers the data they need to protect our most productive agricultural land, boosting Britain’s food security in a time of global uncertainty and a changing climate.

This will support the Government’s missions under the Plan for Change, including delivering new housebuilding, energy infrastructure and new towns.

Using the most sophisticated land use data ever published, the Land Use Framework will provide the principles, advanced data and tools to support decision-making by local government, landowners, businesses, farmers, and nature groups to make the most of our land. This will help deliver the different objectives we have for England’s finite land, including growing food, building 1.5 million homes this parliament, and restoring nature.

As part of a national conversation, there will be workshops across the country, bringing farmers and landowners to the table, to put the insights of the people who manage our landscapes at the centre of our work to develop a final Land Use Framework.
Protecting UK food security and pursuing our mission for economic growth go hand-in-hand – with the highest quality agricultural land already protected for food production whilst kickstarting the economy by building new housing and rolling out renewable energy to make the UK a clean energy superpower.