Land Use Framework for England
This is a briefing on the Land Use Framework for England. It sets out the context of the Framework, details of its contents, and headline implications for environmental professionals.
The Land Use Framework is an environmental policy intended to support multiple objectives for the use of land in England by setting principles for how land should be used and managing trade-offs.
“The IES supports the Government’s ambition for a transformative approach to land use to deliver sustainable wellbeing and a country with thriving people, a healthy economy, and a flourishing environment.
The Land Use Framework will be a fundamental feature of such an approach, as long as it is set up to deliver and provides the right incentives to do so.” - IES response to the Land Use Consultation
Our recommendations for the Land Use Framework
Recommendations for a better approach to land use are set out in chapter 3 of Our Shared Mission for Sustainable Wellbeing, which outlines IES recommendations to the UK Government. Our headline recommendation for land was "a holistic approach to the use of land across the UK to secure multiple benefits for communities and our natural world".
The Land Use Framework takes a significant step towards that ambition, but its success will depend on how it is implemented. For a deeper analysis on how the Framework can be delivered, read our gap analysis on the Land Use Framework. The analysis highlights:
- The need for better connections between the Framework and other policies affecting land use
- That the Framework should be better empowered to actually shape decisions on the ground, with a view to specific places and trade-offs
- Gaps in how widely and consistently the Framework will be able to be applied
- The importance of effective delivery to making the Land Use Framework a success
It is unlikely that the Land Use Framework will be revised soon. The next revisions are expected in around 2030-2031, five years after this initial version was published. In the meantime, the next steps for productive engagement will be:
- To ensure the Land Use Framework is delivered effectively
- To ensure that future policies are sufficiently connected to the Land Use Framework, to make the most of the opportunity it provides
Our policy team is actively working to support effective policy implementation, including through our Environmental Policy Implementation Community. For our initial responses to the Framework, read our ten key messages on the Land Use Framework.
To find out more about the topic, you can read our response to the 2025 Land Use Consultation, or the response from the Environmental Policy Forum. To support effective policy delivery, join our Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC)
If you want to support the work of the IES, you can become an affiliate, or if you’re a professional in the environmental sector working with science, consider joining the IES.
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