The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a new plan, the Land Use Framework, which will guide how land across England should be managed for food production, housing, climate action, and nature restoration.
As the first of its kind, Defra’s new framework aims to demonstrate that there is enough land to deliver the government’s objectives, given that the land is used more efficiently and for multiple benefits.
The department argued that fragmented decision-making in relation to land management has led to inefficient land use and made England “vulnerable to climate change”, with three of the country’s worst harvests on record coming in the last five years.
In addition to this, Defra outlined that this framework comes at a particularly significant time as it has been reported that a third of English farmland is now at risk of flooding.
By focusing on food security and national resilience, the government stated that the plan is a commitment to maintaining food production in England, while also supporting farmers to diversify and remain profitable in the face of extreme weather and market shocks.
Land Use Framework
The long-term plan sets out a list of benefits which can be achieved through future land management, with goals to be reached by 2030 and 2050 separately.
Defra stated that farmers will be incentivised to reach these goals, which have been geared towards protecting nature and food production.
Within the framework, proposed changes to the Farm Tenancy Forum have been introduced to give tenant farmers “a greater role in policy making”, considering they reportedly manage a third of England’s farmland.
The framework will also establish a “single spatial map of England’s natural assets showing where nature recovery can have the greatest impact.”
By 2030, Defra’s hope is that the framework will have helped achieve environmental benefits, such as “restored peatlands, healthier coastal habitats, expanded wetlands, and canopy cover lining urban streets.”
Away from agriculture, the department added that the new land use plans will also help steer housing developments to the most suitable locations, such as non-floodplain areas, accelerating efforts towards the government’s promise of 1.5 million homes.
Defra
While making the announcement yesterday (Wednesday, March 18), Defra Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds said that the framework will ensure farmers “can manage their land in the way that works best for them, while also unlocking growth, strengthening food security and protecting the environment”.
Henry Dimbleby, a former non-executive board member of Defra, noted that the announcement “arrives in a week when the Iran conflict has pushed up fertiliser prices and reminded people how exposed the UK’s food and energy systems are to global shocks”.
“The case for using England’s land more intelligently – reducing dependence on imported inputs, building a more resilient food system and accelerating the shift to clean, homegrown power – is no longer theoretical. It’s urgent.
“This framework provides the evidence base to do it, but now we need the implementation to match,” Dimbleby added.
