Don’t miss the chance to have your say on land use reform

Photo by Luke Thornton on Unsplash

Time is running out for landowners, farmers and others with an interest in land use to have a say on the Government’s proposals for reform.

Defra’s consultation on land use, launched by Environment Secretary Steve Reed on January 31st, draws to a close on April 25th with the Government promising a report later in the summer.

The final report aims to set the scene for policies in the months and years ahead that will help the Government meet competing demands on land in England. These include the building of 1.5 million new homes, achieving challenging targets for renewable energy generation, maintaining the current volume of food production and creating more space for nature.

The perennial concern of landowners across the country is that so much of the good work they already do goes unrecognised. But the support of rural estates and farmers is going to be essential if the Government is to achieve its aims and improve the nation’s resilience in the face of global instability, climate change and other pressures.

For landowners, the proposed Land Use Framework offers both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge because it may impose restrictions on how Estates and farmers can manage their land.

But an opportunity because landowners can influence what the final framework looks like by engaging with the consultation - and provide the solutions to many of the issues the Government has identified.

Ministers have already made some recommendations. They include taking around 9% of land out of food production to make room for energy generation, nature restoration and new homes.

They say it can be done without putting food security at risk and that the measures, including protecting the soil and restoring habitats for pollinators, will actually boost yields and allow farmers to grow more food from less land.

The Secretary of State insists the Government will not issue binding instructions to landowners.

“This framework will not tell people what to do,” he says. “It is about working together to pool our knowledge and resources, to give local and national government, landowners, businesses, farmers and nature groups the data and tools they need to take informed actions that are best for them, best for the land, and best for the country.”

Despite that assurance, some landowners expressed concerns that any land use framework smacks of interference by Government in the way freeholders manage their land. Victoria Vyvyan, the President of the CLA, told KOR Communication’s Estate Matters podcast, before the consultation opened, that she was not in favour of Government intervention in setting land use targets.

She told our podcast host, Anna Byles: “I think CLA members are quite anti big state solutions. I think they would all say: ‘you give us the tools and we’ll deliver you the result that you need’

John Varley, CEO of Clinton Devon Estates, urged landowners to have their say. “If farmers and landowners fully engage in the consultation, they should view it as an opportunity rather than a threat,” he wrote in a thought leader addressing the issue. “Polarized debates will not lead to positive outcomes, whilst collaboration and mutual understanding can foster multifunctional land use that benefits all.”

It seems inevitable that this Government, with its large House of Commons majority, will get its way and a Land Use Framework will be introduced. That may give landowners keen to develop their land, whether for homes, renewable energy projects or nature conservation, opportunities to fast-track plans with Government blessing.

Don’t imagine, however, that neighbours and stakeholders will automatically see changes to the landscape around them as the Government’s doing. Landowners will still have to explain to their neighbours and the public at large, the changes they are making, and why.

The need to foster good relationships, engage and explain, will become even more important as these changes take effect, even if landowners are working to deliver Government policy. 

The changes coming represent some of the biggest for the rural landscape for decades. The scrutiny landowners will face will be magnified. Explaining all the good work you are doing, as an Estate owner or farmer, will become critical in the coming years as Britain’s countryside changes to face new challenges.

If your business needs advice from professional communications and public affairs consultants well-versed in managing positive change, get in touch.