The government has launched a a consultation on a new strategic approach to managing land use in England to give decision makers the data they need to protect our most productive agricultural land, boosting Britain’s food security in a time of global uncertainty and a changing climate.
This is designed to support the government’s missions under the Plan for Change, including delivering new housebuilding, energy infrastructure and new towns.
Using what has been described as the most sophisticated land use data ever published, the Land Use Framework will provide the principles, advanced data and tools to support decision-making by local government, landowners, businesses, farmers, and nature groups to make the most of our land. This will help deliver the different objectives we have for England’s finite land, including growing food, building 1.5 million homes this parliament, and restoring nature.
As part of a ‘national conversation’, there will be workshops across the country, bringing farmers and landowners to the table, to put the insights of the people who manage our landscapes at the centre of our work to develop a final Land Use Framework.
The government says protecting UK food security and pursuing its mission for economic growth go hand-in-hand – with the highest quality agricultural land already protected for food production whilst kickstarting the economy by building new housing and rolling out renewable energy to make the UK a clean energy superpower.
Local planning will benefit from data outlined in the Land Use Framework, combined with the energy and housing spatial plans and a new food strategy. This, the government says, will ensure it builds 1.5 million new homes over five years, a generation of new towns, and the energy infrastructure needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030, while protecting food security and our natural world.
The deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “This marks an important step forward in our journey to build the 1.5 million new homes that we desperately need.
“This new approach will make better use of our land and grasp the opportunities to deliver new homes and infrastructure in the areas most in need, achieving win-win results for both development and the environment.
“Our Plan for Change is going even further to dismantle the barriers holding back growth, so we can raise living standards, get more families onto the property ladder, and deliver a better future for our children and grandchildren.
The consultation will run for 12 weeks with the final Land Use Framework published later in the year. This will deliver a key manifesto commitment as part of our Plan for Change.
Read the orginal article: https://propertyindustryeye.com/government-launches-uk-land-use-consultation-as-part-of-development-plans/
