Land Use Consultation

Monday 3rd February 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

Last week, the Government opened their consultation on land use in England. This is the launch of a national conversation on land use, and will inform the development of a land use framework for England that will transform how we use land in this country to support economic growth and food security and deliver on our plan for change.

England has finite land with growing calls on it— growing food, building 1.5 million homes this Parliament, and restoring nature.

The land use consultation builds on previous contributions made by Members of the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee, several Members of this House, and other organisations that have called for a more joined-up approach to land use and land management policy. It aims to foster a national conversation on land use in England. The findings from this consultation will inform the development of our housing and energy spatial plans as well as ongoing reforms to the planning system. It is another step in the delivery of our plan for change to build 1.5 million new homes, and the energy infrastructure needed to achieve clean power by 2030, while safeguarding food security and our natural world.

The land use framework is not about telling anyone how to use their land. Using the most sophisticated land use data ever published, the land use Framework instead will provide the principles, advanced data and tools to empower decision makers to protect the most productive agricultural land, boost food security and identify areas with the greatest potential for nature recovery.

The consultation sets out a vision for land use change and seeks views on:

The scale and type of land use changes that may be needed to 2050;

the principles that should inform decision making, and how they could be applied;

the actions Government could take to support decisions about land use change.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks and will inform Government’s development of the land use framework later this year. It will include workshops across England as well as roundtables with experts, industry groups and other interested stakeholders.

[HCWS412]