CPRE responds to Land Use Framework publication

CPRE has responded to the publication of the government’s Land Use Framework, welcoming its ambition while urging stronger safeguards to ensure the countryside is protected as competing demands on land intensify.

The Land Use Framework is a long-awaited opportunity for real change. It promises serious integration across government departments, which could help ensure that we finally make the most of our finite supply of land.

We welcome the review of the Agricultural Land Classification and greater transparency of resources including the Land Registry and National Soil Map. Enhanced safeguards for farmland are also encouraging at a time when demand for land has never been more acute.

But even the best intentions won’t change the fact that every hectare of land is being pulled in different directions.

Economic growth should not be prioritised at any cost to the countryside. How tradeoffs are managed locally and nationally – and the degree to which the framework is integrated with other spatial strategies – will be key to its success.

The UK is facing a land crunch of unprecedented proportions. We can overcome it, but delivery matters as much as ambition.