TO BE PUBLISHED June 2025
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This conference will examine priorities for land use in England.
Delegates will discuss how land can be strategically managed to balance food production, climate adaptation, housing development, and nature restoration, and consider how best to support a coherent and forward-looking land use framework.
It will bring key stakeholders and policymakers together to assess implications of potential outcomes following the ongoing Land Use Framework for England consultation, and to assess next steps in light of recent developments, including the suspension of new Sustainable Farming Incentive applications and emerging proposals around compulsory purchase powers for nature restoration.
Delegates will consider priorities and options for the potential direction of future schemes and regulatory powers, with discussion on the potential impact of new approaches to spatial data and environmental assessments at both national and local levels. Discussion is also expected on the framework's longer-term structure, including how it can best support coordinated decisions across planning, farming, and environmental policy, and what governance, review, and evaluation mechanisms will be required.
Sessions will discuss approaches to improving policy clarity, providing increased funding certainty, and the way forward for delivery structures as the Agricultural Transition continues. Changes to delinked payments, evolving expectations for land managers, and the balance of voluntary and regulatory approaches to land use change will also be considered.
Delegates will also explore the role of national and local stakeholders in ensuring that land use decisions are transparent, evidence-based, and adaptable to emerging challenges and priorities. Following calls for national targets for food production to help address long-term concerns around food security, supply chain stability, and the resilience of domestic farming, we expect discussion on how such targets might work in practice, assessing their impact and their interaction with broader environmental and trade objectives.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- Land Use Framework implementation:
- roles of central government and agencies, local government and stakeholders - accountability and coordinating responsibilities, including for land use decisions and oversight
- alignment with wider policy affecting farming, environment, and planning - reflecting local needs in implementation
- regulation:
- the balance between voluntary incentives and regulatory powers - implications of potential compulsory purchase powers
- considerations for fostering innovation and provision of landowner autonomy in environmental markets
- funding:
- implications of changes to the financial framework following delinking of payments - options for provision of short and long-term funding certainty for land managers
- assessing possible sustainable financial models that can support priorities for both food production and environmental stewardship
- planning: framework coordination with national and regional systems - strategic options for addressing competing demands for housing, infrastructure, farming and environmental priorities
- food security and trade:
- assessing proposals for food production targets - priorities for supporting supply chain resilience and farm sector viability
- implications for future trade policy and standards - options for addressing stakeholder concerns over imported food and market access
- environmental priorities:
- framework support and approaches to land use that align with nature restoration and climate resilience - strategic options for management of finite land resources to deliver multifunctional outcomes
- data and evidence: priorities for spatial mapping and natural capital data - addressing reliability and accuracy concerns - use of technology alongside local farming and land management insights
- stakeholder engagement: consultation on framework development - mechanisms for stakeholder input and feedback - strategies for supporting adaptive local delivery
- evaluation: criteria for assessing the framework’s effectiveness - governance options for ongoing oversight - appropriate intervals for review and adjustment in light of emerging evidence
- long-term: policy to support coherent land strategy over the next 25 years - alignment of food, nature and economic goals - supporting cross-sector stakeholder collaboration in implementation
