Our land is our greatest natural asset: farmland, green belt, grey belt, new town, development zone, freeport, reservoir, industrial park, road, rail, area of special scientific interest, solar farm, nature reserve, town, village or hamlet — all 93,723 square miles (242,741 km2) of it. And decisions on how to use it often sparks fierce debate.
The use of land underpins everything in our economy and our society, but there has never been a national strategy to prioritise how we use land. The government believes that we one, nationally and locally. With growth at the centre of its agenda, the Labour government claims: “For too long, a haphazard approach has been taken to the way infrastructure is sited or homes are built,” and better decision-making is required.
The government wants a national conversation about land usage. There will be changes over the next decades, to achieve targets for nature, water supply, and emissions-reduction, while also delivering new infrastructure and housing and food-security. Armed with your views, the government plans to produce the first Land Use Framework for England.
Balancing progress with nature
England is now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. East Anglia Bylines has reported about the decline of wildlife over the decades — the loss of birdsong, the absence of insects.
The government recognises that our rivers, lakes and seas have “unacceptable levels of pollution”. It is a deeply concerning picture, and comes at a time when climate change and global warming pose further threats to the land and to the livelihoods of man and beast that depend on it.
Set alongside these environmental issues is man’s needs – housing, energy, and access to clean water and air being key. All councils in England have been given new, mandatory housing targets to deliver 1.5 million more homes. In the Greater Cambridge area, for instance, they will need to address the water scarcity issues. The proposal to address this is to repurpose land to create a new reservoir (the Fens reservoir), water treatment plants, and pipelines to move water to the reservoir and to habitations.
These new homes and new server farms supporting AI and technology growth, also require power. The government’s commitment is clean power by 2030. Will the major infrastructure necessary be built where it least disrupts nature? How much land can we afford to devote to solar farms? Is agrivoltaics the cost effective compromise?
Food security and farming
Two thirds of England’s land is agricultural, made up of 38% arable and 29% grassland. Much of the best arable land is in East Anglia. Less than 2% of UK farmland is used to grow fruit and vegetables. Government statistics reveal that just over half our vegetables are produced in the UK, and we produce only 16% of our fruit. These are not healthy figures if we want to meet the government’s aim to “maintain food security in a time of global uncertainty”.
Weather changes – particularly rainy periods – and diseases are reported to have led to a drop in harvesting production figures. An estimated 2.9mn people in England are malnourished, with children being treated for dental decay, scurvy, bow legs, rickets and heart murmurs. There have been repeated calls for increased investment in horticulture, not least to stem the estimated £22.6bn a year cost to the NHS treating malnutrition. A substantial increase in horticulture will require more land or significant investment in AI controlled greenhouses and specialist lighting.
Farming is a precarious job. Broken supply chains, ‘farmwashing’, and the supermarkets’ stranglehold cause farmers difficulties. Added to this is the need to embrace new models of agricultural practice to adapt food production to the changing climate, and the need to build greater resilience in the face of increased flooding and changing patterns of pests and disease.
How land is used will be key to the government’s plan “to make farming more profitable and put more money back in the pockets of British farmers”. A laudable aim, though it is diversification of income-streams by selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines that is being encouraged. Reconciling land for food security and land for power is already hotly debated, as in the recent proposal to use 17,000 acres of Norfolk farmland for solar farms. East Anglia, with its sunny climate climate is a prime location for solar farms. But equally with its excellent soil and flat geography it is also the prime location for the UK’s breadbasket.
‘Land Usage Framework‘
The government states that it is “not going to tell people what to do with their fields or replace the planning system”. The plan is to gather feedback via the consultation and develop a Land Usage Framework reflecting “a shared vision”.
The framework will set out a direction for England’s land use and how to balance the various competing interests. As part of the consultation, the government plans to hold roundtables and workshops across the country to seek the views of the primary custodians of land, namely farmers, landowners, conservation groups and planners.
The Land Use Framework will be published in 2025. It will sit alongside a new food strategy, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and the 25 year Environmental Improvement Plan.
The framework is intended to inform future decision-making to guarantee long-term food security, support development and ensure targets on nature and climate are met.
The public consultation is running until 25 April. There are 24 questions presented with supporting evidence. Every citizen is invited to present their views.
