Land use framework will map the areas of England with the best quality farmland and greatest potential for nature recovery
English farmland will be protected from housing, onshore wind farms and solar panels under a new land use framework, the government has announced.
On 31 January Defra launched a consultation on how land in England should best be used for farming, restoring nature or building infrastructure.
The agreed blueprint will map the areas with the best quality farmland and most potential for nature recovery. And environment secretary Ed Miliband and housing secretary Angela Rayner will reportedly be discouraged from planning developments on such land.
Climate risks will also be included in the framework, which will highlight which areas which are likely to have increased flooding or erosion. This will help with planning to protect farmland and nature.
Responding to the launch of the consultation, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “The UK is a small island nation and there are huge demands being made on land, including housebuilding, requirements for biodiversity net gain, leisure and recreation, and critical national infrastructure…
“Our countryside needs to remain a multifunctional, dynamic space; one that creates a thriving, profitable farming industry and enables Britain’s farmers and growers to continue producing more sustainable, affordable homegrown food while carrying out important work in caring for the environment, creating more jobs and supporting greener energy security.
“Alongside, we need a trade policy to match this ambition with a robust system of core standards for food imports that protect farmers and consumers from imported food that would be illegal to produce here. That’s why we are also asking for targets for British food production, just as the government has rightly legislated for targets on the environment.
“Over the past 18 months, the UK farming industry has taken a battering. Volatile input costs, commodity prices on the floor in some sectors, a reduction in direct payments, one of the wettest periods in decades, and a brutal Budget delivered by this government.
“All have left their mark and have put homegrown food production under serious pressure. It’s imperative this framework does not further restrict farmers’ ability to produce the nation’s food.”
Soil Association policy director Brendan Costelloe added: “We have been calling for a land use framework for years to give the clarity and confidence that nature-friendly farmers, land-users and progressive businesses so desperately need to invest in the future of our countryside.
“We’re pleased with the intent to protect good quality agricultural land, but it’s the way that land is farmed that will determine whether the government can avoid unnecessary trade-offs between food, nature and climate.
“It was good to hear the Secretary of State talk about restoring our soils, reducing pesticide and fertiliser use and creating landscapes that deliver multifunctional synergies. The land-use framework will need to turn this aspiration into reality.
“The biggest challenge will be getting the balance right between flexibility for farmers and certainty for the environment and food resilience. Clearly, the framework shouldn’t be telling farmers what to grow and where to grow it all the time.”
