Do we need a new framework for managing land?

While land is one of our greatest assets, it is a finite resource. A number of commentators have suggested a land use framework would help tackle increasing pressures on land. It is also seen as a way of giving local communities and landowners greater security in making long-term decisions about land. But there are also concerns that a land use framework would have unintended consequences, such as placing limitations on land use. With Defra due to publish a Land Use Framework in 2023; how can we make better use of land, and what does a good land use framework look like? Jessica Sellick investigates. ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Back in 2010 the Government Office for Science published a report on ‘Land Use Futures: Making the most of land in the 21st century’. This followed a 2-year Foresight project on the future of land use in the UK. This independent study looked at how land is used and managed, the benefits it delivers, and the impact of change. If a land system is to deliver best value for the country in a sustainable way, the project team suggested that we need to estimate the value of land in alternative possible users (including for future generations). With conflicting needs of individual households, communities, regions and the country as a whole, they argued it is important to ensure that economic and regulatory mechanisms are in place to deliver best value. The authors identified an important issue around whether a central body would be necessary to oversee all aspects of land use policy and implementation, or whether a decentralised approach would be sufficient.  

[This project] demonstrates that there is a strong case to develop a much more strategic approach: to guide incremental land use change, incentivise sustainable behaviours, and to unlock value from land…a reappraisal is vital to help address major challenges ahead – for example, relating to demographic shifts, climate change, and rising demand for commercial and residential development…The challenge…is to deliver a wider range of sustainable benefits from land. In particular, a more coherent and consistent approach is needed for managing growing demands on land – at different levels of Government, and across the wider community of stakeholders involved in the many land use sectors (page 9)…The essential requirement is that sufficient oversight should be established so that greater coherence and consistency is achieved’ (page 35).  

More recently, in 2019, a report published by the House of Lords Rural Economy Committee called on the Government to develop a ‘spatial plan’ for land use in England, describing how this would “help ensure that the right type of development is brought forward in the right places, enabling sustainable and growing rural economies and communities. Government must carefully consider how such a plan may be developed at a local and regional level, focusing on how groups of local authorities may be encouraged or required to work together to develop and implement the plans” (page 171).   

In 2021, the National Food Strategy proposed a rural land use framework. This called on Defra to work with Local Nature Recovery Networks to prepare a National Rural Land Map. Such a map would show the productivity of agricultural land, priority areas for the environment, and areas where there are significant levels of pollution. It would also display information from the England Tree Strategy, England Peat Action Plan and Local Nature Recovery Strategies. 

In June 2022 Defra published the Government’s food strategy. This contained a commitment to ‘publish a land use framework in 2023 to ensure we meet our net zero and biodiversity targets, and help our farmers adapt to a changing climate, whilst continuing to produce high quality, affordable produce that supports a healthier diet’. 

In December 2022, the House of Lords Land Use Committee published its report ‘Making the most out of England’s land’. The Committee highlighted a number of issues standing in the way of making the best decisions on land use: from siloed working and conflicting priorities, through to policy uncertainty and lack of coordination between different tiers of Government. The Committee recommended that a Land Use Commission be created and be tasked with producing a land use framework – which should consider several factors including food, nature, housing needs and net zero. The Committee’s Chair described how “Throughout this inquiry we repeatedly heard evidence that showcased the need for guidance and clarity in the form of an overarching framework to assist farmers, landowners and land managers to make the most effective use of their land”. The Government responded to the Committee’s report in April 2023. It said it “disagree[d] with the proposal for a separate Land Use Commission. However, we agree that the framework must take a wide range of land uses into account and that it may be necessary to assemble a group of experts to oversee the application of the Land Use Framework once published. We agree that a land use framework should reflect existing planning frameworks and guidance, and that regional and local priorities must be taken into account when making any recommendations on national priorities. We are clear though that we do not intend to prescribe either land sharing or sparing, nor to determine at a national level where individual activities or uses should or should not be occurring. Our focus is on supporting the delivery of resilient, multifunctional landscapes which will be dependent on the local context and needs”.  

In May 2023 the Geospatial Commission published a report recommending the establishment of a new Land Use Analysis Taskforce. This would bring together ‘cutting edge data’ and ‘scientific expertise’ to support land use decision-making. 

In June 2023, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle submitted a written question to Defra asking ‘whether the forthcoming national land use framework will balance the competing demands for agriculture, development, energy, and infrastructure in a way that actively promotes the installation of solar panels on suitable brownfield land and rooftops’? In his response, Lord Benyon described how “Striking the right balance between different land uses is a challenging task, which will involve trade-offs. There are many uses of our land that we need to anticipate for the future: growing food, planting trees, building homes, natural habitats, energy, land for infrastructure, and leisure and recreation. The Land Use Framework for England, to be published this year, will help to inform how we manage trade-offs and maximise co-benefits on the land, thereby supporting the delivery of multifunctional landscapes that will be dependent on the local context and national needs”.   

What is a Land Use Framework, do we need one in England, and what does a good framework look like? 

What is a Land Use Framework? According to the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission (FFCC) it is ‘an approach to managing land use decisions that mediates competing pressures and encourages multifunctionality, enabling land to provide multiple benefits for public value. It consists of  a set of agreed principles and practices for local and national organisations, businesses and communities, guiding transparent, inclusive, evidence-led decision-making’. 

In academic circles, it is framed around understanding the inputs, system-level impacts, and trade-offs between different land uses. Approaches to do this have focused on understanding land intensity, Land Use Functions (LUF), and/or Land Use Transition (LUT). Similarly, there have been calls to address the issues associated with changing land uses in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary ways.

In policy circles, a land use framework sets out principals and responsibilities that take account of relevant legislation and/or professional standards. This often involves a mix of stakeholders (individuals and organisations), has a spatial and/or organisational context, and sets out what is (or should be) happening or expected to happen. 

England already has a number of land use governance and frameworks in place. Some examples include: 

  • National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): this sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and provides a framework within which locally prepared plans for housing and other development can be produced, as well as setting guidelines for conserving and enhancing landscapes such as National Parks.
  • National Policy Statements: these set out the Government’s objectives for the development of nationally significant infrastructure projects.
  • Local Plans: Developed by local planning authorities, these set out the vision, growth strategy and strategic policies for a local area.
  • Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS): an emerging system of spatial strategies that will establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits.
  • Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs): agricultural policy reforms designed for England’s countryside and environment. 

In February 2023 the Royal Society published a report analysing the Government’s policies and targets relating to land use. It found, if existing land-based policy commitments were added together, the UK’s land risks being ‘overpromised’. By 2030, up to 1.4 Mha of additional land [equivalent to the size of Northern Ireland] could be needed to meet current policy targets for net zero and biodiversity, if current agricultural production, diets, and food waste remain static. This rises to 4.4 Mha by 2050: over twice the land area of Wales and 18% of total UK land area. The report contains figures to highlight the increasing pressure on the UK’s land over time and emphasises the importance of a multifunctional framework to maximise synergies and minimise  trade-offs; and of ‘joining up policy development across all departments of government within a land use framework informed by a comprehensive and continually improving evidence base’.  

Does England need a Land Use Framework? Land is fundamental for how we live our lives and recognising land use pressures is increasingly seen as a cross-cutting national challenge. Other UK nations have a range of land use policies and mechanisms in place. The Scottish Government, for example, published its land use strategy in March 2021 – setting out a long-term vision for sustainable land use, its objectives and key policies for delivery. In Scotland, a land use strategy must be produced every five years, with the first such strategy published in 2011. The strategy references Scotland’s National Planning Framework (NPF), which it sees as a platform to take forward conversations about sustainable land use.

In February 2021, the Welsh Government published its National Plan for Wales. The Welsh Government described the document as a ‘development plan’ with a strategy for addressing key national priorities through the planning system, including sustaining and developing a vibrant economy, achieving decarbonisation and climate-resilience, developing strong ecosystems and improving the health and well-being of our communities’. It sets out the Welsh Government’s land use priorities and provides a national land use framework for strategic development plans (SDPs) and local development plans (LDPs). 

In Northern Ireland, the Department for Infrastructure is responsible for the review, monitoring and implementation of the Regional Development Strategy (RDS). The RDS is viewed as a long-term plan for delivering the spatial aspects of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Programme for Government. This includes addressing the economic, social and environmental issues aimed at achieving sustainable development and social cohesion. It therefore offers a framework which provides the strategic context for where development should happen. 

Increasingly, the UK Government is taking a systems-thinking approach to developing land use policy – with examples including tools that identify and track risks across the net zero portfolio.  The forthcoming Land Use Framework for England is intended ‘to ensure food security is balanced alongside climate and environment outcomes’. 

In its response to the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), the NFU confirmed it shares the Government’s environmental ambitions alongside equally ambitious plans for food production to protect and enhance the UK’s food security. The NFU is calling on the Land Use Framework to recognise the need for the countryside to remain a functional, dynamic space – indicating how greater access to data on land capability will be needed to inform business decisions and maximise land use efficiency.   

Some commentators argue that a Land Use Framework is not needed, or that it may lead to unintended consequences in England. In December 2022, for example, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) highlighted how ‘if it [the Framework] were to go as far as identifying land parcels it could result in zoning and limitations on land use that could stifle both farming and environmental innovation. It could also be used to prevent rural development and business diversification. Instead, the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) will bring data together in a consistent and transparent way’. Combined with meaningful engagement with land holders and local communities, the CLA views LNRSs as a more effective route to bring data together, achieve local buy-in and motivation to deliver than a land use framework.   

What does a good Framework look like? Green Alliance has suggested that given over 70% of the UK’s land surface is farmed, while an ideal framework would cover all conceivable land uses, it should focus on the largest changes first in noting that 2.5% of rural land needs to be converted to native habitat or agroecologically managed farmland to achieve UK nature and climate goals at the least cost. According to Green Alliance the framework and related policy should do five things: 

  1. Map food production in England, showing where farmland is more or less productive. 
  2. Map the potential for land in England to store carbon and support nature through habitat creation and agroecology. Comparing this with the food production map (1) to explore changes and trade-offs. 
  3. Set out the  scale of land use change needed between now and 2050, and the land best suited to delivering environmental goals. 
  4. Explore different pathways for delivering this and the costs of doing so. 
  5. Outline how the target agreed at the COP15 UN biodiversity conference to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030 will be met. 

According to the Foresight project on making the most of land, the essential components of a framework should include: 

  • Establishing and cascading UK-wide land use objectives and priorities – aspirational or mandatory. 
  • Ensuring clarity on decision making at national, regional and local levels. 
  • Ensuring decision making is integrated and evidence-based. 
  • Facilitating the collection and dissemination of better date and information. 
  • Ensuring appropriate incentives to guide decisions on land use. 
  • Promoting decisions and policies that are robust in the face of changing circumstances and future uncertainty. 
  • Promoting opportunities for multifunctional land uses and collaboration amongst potential beneficiaries. 
  • Periodic review of outcomes against national and local objectives. 
  • Evaluating the robustness of new policies and interventions against  future uncertainties. 

The Royal Society has been exploring how science can be used to better manage land. In February 2023, the Society published its long-term vision for managing the UK’s land. This includes work around multifunctional landscape analysis – metrics that can be used to assess all the different products and services provided by the land, and that take into account the context within which a service is being measured. This is part of attempts to analyse the trade-offs and synergies between different land uses. The report also includes a recommendation that UK countries should develop and coordinate spatially explicit national land use frameworks to ensure coherence between national and local scales.  

Views vary about the scale or boundary of a land use framework, how it could be used to inform decision making, and how such an approach would be governed, delivered, funded and monitored.  

What does it mean for rural areas? FFCC has worked with Devon and Cambridgeshire to see how different components of a land use framework could be implemented at a county level. In Devon, the approach has been ‘data up’, with in-depth analysis of sub areas and catchments. In Cambridgeshire, the approach has been ‘whole county’, with a layered map approach trialled. In March 2023, FFCC published some initial lessons from the pilots, covering five key areas. 

  1. Scope and scale: a land use framework can be a helpful way of empowering and enabling local leadership to address issues across silos and deliver positive change. 
  2. Leadership: counties and/or Combined Authorities seem to be the right level to integrate national and local considerations. 
  3. Data: a lot of data exists already and the emphasis should be on using this to inform decision making – the process of bringing together data is valuable in considering strategic land use issues. 
  4. Communities: the mechanisms that currently exist for communities to influence land use change largely involve blocking or slowing development. There is an opportunity to bring citizens together to generate a positive vision for their area that goes beyond just the built environment. 
  5. Landowners: their ability to take a long-term view of the issues beyond political cycles is useful.   

FFCC aims to take the learning from the pilots to inform the development of a Land Use Framework for England. In the meantime, Devon County Council has committed to developing a land use framework to inform their food and carbon strategies. In Cambridgeshire, a prototype data decision-support tool is being developed. Pilots have also been taking place in Newcastle and Northern Ireland. Findings from all of the pilots will be shared from autumn 2023. 

Where next? In the words of Mark Twain, ‘buy land, they’re not making it anymore’.Our relationship to land is pivotal, connecting us to nature, culture; it shapes who we are and who we might become. Yet land is a finite resource and much is at stake for rural communities: how are we going to grapple with deciding what land provides now, and in the future; and will Defra’s Land Use Framework for England help us? Watch this space.   …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jessica is a project manager at Rose Regeneration and a senior research fellow at The National Centre for Rural Health and Care (NCRHC). She is currently evaluating hospital discharge and hospital avoidance schemes, and a service that supports older people to maintain their independence. Jessica also sits on the board of a charity supporting  rural communities across Cambridgeshire. 

She can be contacted by email jessica.sellick@roseregeneration.co.uk. 

Website: http://roseregeneration.co.uk/https://www.ncrhc.org/ 

Blog: http://ruralwords.co.uk/ 

Twitter: @RoseRegen