Wild Moors welcomes Land Use Framework for England

Wild Moors welcomes the UK Government’s publication this week of the Land Use Framework for England. With increasing focus on food production, climate change, nature recovery, housing and infrastructure, the need for clearer and better-informed land-use decisions is central to achieving an environmentally sustainable and economically resilient future.

This is true for all land, but particularly so for the uplands. These areas lie at the heart of the environment, economy and social fabric of rural communities and cover approximately 1.6 million hectares, around 12 per cent of England’s land area. Their management is therefore critical to the delivery of local, regional and national environmental and economic objectives.

Landowners and land managers are rightly recognised as being integral to delivering many of the framework’s outcomes. Through sustainable stewardship, they produce healthy, home-grown food, contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation, support nature recovery and protect soils and waterways.

The framework represents a positive step towards improved consistency of data and greater clarity on how strategic land-use decisions will be made. It sets out the principles, scope and ambition required to guide future action.

Wild Moors looks forward to the framework being used by the government to underpin decision-making with robust evidence and actionable outcomes, particularly in the development and delivery of policy and legislation.