The government’s land use framework must put people, nature, food & energy security at the heart of Labour’s vision for England.

Rob Wakely

It’s been great to see policies I worked on for years with Labour’s shadow environment team finally becoming reality. In opposition we had to watch on as Tory Ministers ducked action on critical issues or made limited progress which then stuttered and fell away. In just over 18 months the Labour government has delivered many significant advances. 

Already Labour Ministers have taken much-needed swift action across the vast range of the Environment Department’s remit – from tougher water industry regulation, to improving animal welfare, restoring nature, and reducing waste.  

A comprehensive framework to guide land use decisions was among the wreckage of half-completed work that Labour Ministers inherited. Their Tory predecessors’ inability to face up to the many competing demands on our land has held our country back. Stifling housebuilding as well as vital infrastructure like reservoirs and renewable energy projects, while doing nothing to enhance national food security or restore nature. 

Now the Labour government has finally published what is in fact the first ever strategy for land use across England. Consulted on last year, it provides a comprehensive planning tool to go further and faster on delivering new homes, nature restoration, clean energy and food security. It demonstrates clearly that there is enough land but it must be used more efficiently, so that for instance the same piece of land delivers multiple benefits and activities.  

The land use framework was supposed to be published last July, so it is disappointing that it has dragged on for so long. I hope it wasn’t held up by Whitehall wrangling, but the final document rightly sets out how better use of our land resources can support the government’s priority of boosting economic growth. 

A dedicated Land Use Unit is being set up to drive delivery of the framework and produce England’s first single map of national spatial priorities. So, alongside growth, I hope the rich data, analysis and mapping which the framework brings together will provide a user-friendly, practical toolbox. Supporting local people to decide where best to site new housing, solar panels and windfarms, and how to protect vital habitats for nature, while increasing locally produced food. They will need strong guidelines to stand up to profit-driven developer pressure when necessary. 

Cooperative community energy projects also need the land use framework’s support to get off the ground and thrive. It explicitly cuts through some of the deliberate confusion and misinformation which has tried to pit renewable energy up against food production. Out of England’s total land area of roughly thirteen million hectares, some 68 per cent, or nearly nine million hectares, is used for agriculture. Energy utilities use 0.2 per cent of England’s land area, of which solar farms account for 0.1 per cent and are projected to rise to only 0.4 per cent by 2035. Even then, half the agricultural land generating solar power is still used to produce food, such as for grazing. For context, about fifteen times as much of England’s land area is covered by golf courses (two per cent) and grouse moors (four per cent) together. 

The greater transparency on land ownership heralded in the land use framework must also be used to drive better use of the vast land holdings of the government, local authorities and public sector. Land owned by the likes of the Crown Estate (nearly 300,000 hectares), Forestry Commission (about 900,000 hectares), Ministry of Defence (over 400,000 hectares) and local authorities (over 500,000 hectares) could be doing so much more to help restore nature, reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable farming, as well as build housing and host energy infrastructure. 

The land use framework has the potential to be an engine for economic growth and really positive change for our countryside and coastal communities, as well as national security and resilience in food and energy. 

It must put within reach the vision of an England with healthy ecosystems, abundant habitats for wildlife, clean seas and waterways and beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy. Along with producing nutritious, sustainable food, well-designed net zero homes for families, protection from flooding, and more resilient national energy security with lower bills. 

We need the land use framework to help make all of that possible!

Rob Wakely was a political adviser to several Labour shadow Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between 2018 and 2024.