Land Use Framework

The Land Use Framework (LUF) for England has been published, following the consultation undertaken last year (see https://theandersonscentre.co.uk/land-use-consultation/).  In line with other Government strategies and plans of the past couple of years it is a document that is full of worthy intentions but rather vague and wooly, with little obvious practial impact on farming businesses.

The Framework is divided into various sections.  The first includes a ‘Vision’ for Land Use in 2030 and 2050 and incorporates ‘Key Insights’.  This sets out how Defra thinks land use should evolve through to 2050.  At present around 70% of the area of England is agricultural – arable or grassland.  The LUF suggests that, by 2050, 1% will shift to urban expansion, 2% to renewables and 6% will be re-purposed for climate and nature uses.  On top of this 9%, a further 4% will remain ‘primarily’ for food production but will be managed to provide benefits for the climate and nature.

The LUF sets out the Government’s commitment to ‘maintain overall food production in England’.  Whilst quite vague, and in no way binding, the farming industry will be pleased to see the Government back food production.  There is a further question as to whether ‘maintaining’ food production is enough given rising population and potential threats to food supply from abroad.  Holding food production stable, even if farmland is moving to other uses is thought possible as long as ‘food production increases in line with the historic averages’.  One of the Key Insights set out in the document is that ‘there is enough land to deliver our objectives’ if ‘we can make land use more efficient’.

The next section in the LUF sets out four Land Use Principles that will inform Government policy-making where it affects land use.  These are;

• Multifunctionality – land should deliver for a variety of outcomes (e.g. farming and nature)
• Right-use, Right-place – examples given are that high-quality farmland and irreplacable habitats should be protected
• Future ready decisions – a long-term view should be taken preventing short-term decisions compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
• Adaptive-by-design – the LUF should be flexible and able to incorporate changing circumstances – especially in regards to climate change

Finally, there is a section on implementation.  It is clear that this is mainly a document for Government and will primarily be used to inform future policy-making.  There was early indication that elements of the LUF would be incorporated into the Planning system, but the Foreword clearly states ‘This is not a document that tells people what to do with their land, nor a replacement for the Planning system. It is a blueprint for smarter, more informed decisions’.  As such, there is little practical implication for the agricultural sector from the Framework.  There are some points of interest to note however;

• an open-access National Soil Map of England and Wales will be provided by spring 2026, making the definitive source of soils information in the UK freely available
• a predictive Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) map to replace the outdated Provisional ALC map should be published shortly.  There will be a review of the ALC system by 2028 so that agricultural land is better classified and the best land is protected in Planning decisions
• from 2027 there may be more ‘spatial targeting’ of SFI options.  In time, this could be extended to all ELM schemes.  This may see higher payments offered in certain areas, or some options only available in certain locations
• Defra has a clear goal to generate more private finance for land-use change (this has proved difficult to date, and the LUF does not provide much extra detail on how this will be achieved)
• ‘recreational’ land such as shooting estates, gold courses, equine land etc. will also be required to contribute in areas such as public access, nature recovery and climate change
• the gamebird shooting sector may be subject to licencing requirements in future
• the transparency of landownership will be improved.  This includes Defra working with HM Land Registry this year to provide access to free, spatial land ownership data for larger properties covering the vast majority of England

The Land Use Framework can be found at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-use-framework .  It is planned to update it every five years.

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