A new CPRE report warns that the government\u2019s Land Use Framework will not solve the fundamental question of what gets built where, arguing that policy tools to guide better land-use decisions already exist but remain fragmented and largely neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government\u2019s Land Use Framework, expected on Wednesday,?will make one thing clear: demands on our?finite supply of land have?never been?more acute.? With 1.5 million new homes to build, renewable energy targets to hit, nature in freefall and food security under pressure, every?hectare?is being pulled in multiple directions at once.?? But which demand wins?\u2013?and what gets lost?in the process?\u2013?is increasingly?decided by accident rather than design.?The consequences of getting this wrong are severe: new homes built on floodplains, solar panels across the nation\u2019s most productive farmland, and nature reserves reclassified as \u2018grey?belt\u2019 to unlock development.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The?issue is not a lack of?policy?tools.?The report?identifies?six?strategic mechanisms, including Spatial Development Strategies,?Local Nature Recovery Strategies and the Climate Adaptation Reporting ?Power,?that?already exist?and?could enable?smarter,?joined-up decisions to?be made?about land use.? The?challenge the report highlights is that they are being?used?in?silos. Each?mechanism?has been developed through?the lens of a different government department, producing a patchwork of strategies that overlap,?contradict?and occasionally cancel each other out.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Land Use Framework?won\u2019t?fix this on its own<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government\u2019s long-awaited Land Use Framework is unlikely to be the silver bullet many are hoping for. Competing departmental priorities will persist and the fundamental questions will remain unanswered: where should 1.5 million homes go? Which land is best suited to food production, and which to nature recovery or renewable energy? Of the six tools examined, Spatial Development Strategies \u2013?which?will?be?introduced as part of the?English Devolution?Bill?\u2013?emerge?as the most promising.?They have the potential to?balance?housing?need?alongside climate,?nature?and food priorities?but?risk?being treated simply as a means of distributing housebuilding targets. With major planning consultations open and the Devolution Bill progressing through Parliament, CPRE is calling on the government to?establish?a statutory?national plan for?land use,?develop a spatial framework?that?integrates?all major sectors, and?support?Strategic Authorities to deliver on climate and nature targets?alongside housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger Mortlock, CPRE chief executive, said:? \u2018England\u2019s?land is finite, but the demands upon it are multiplying.?So many?government targets require land, but we still think in boxes?about?how we?use?it. Without a coherent national?plan?and clear mechanisms for delivery, the country risks fragmented development, needless loss of countryside,?and missed opportunities to align housing, energy, food, climate and nature goals. Evidence ?from this report shows there is?still time to think differently and that with strategic leadership, integrated planning and a renewed commitment to fairness between places, England can overcome the land crunch.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ellie Brodie, report author and founder of Grounded Insight, said:? \u2018An additional area of land twice the size of Wales?will be needed?by 2050?to meet the UK\u2019s targets for net zero and biodiversity alone.?Add to that the government\u2019s commitment to building 1.5 million new homes and the problem?is clear. Our report shows?the?art of the possible, both in future and right now, with?the?tools?we have on the table.?Connecting Local Nature Recovery Strategies to environmental payments for farmers, for example, and using Spatial Development Strategies to cut across historic town and country dividing lines. There is still time \u2013 just \u2013 to make changes, be ambitious and do things differently.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n