New Land Use Framework should be embedded in planning policy to meet environmental targets and secure prosperity

• Defra has published a new Land Use Framework, intended to set out how land across England can be used more effectively and setting out an overarching strategic vision for land use from 2030 to 2050.

• The framework aims to reflect all elements of land use including food, housing, and nature, and move beyond siloed thinking. It comes after a public consultation period in 2025 which The Rivers Trust and other environmental groups responded to.

• The Rivers Trust welcomes this long-awaited framework, which clearly recognises the role that land use decisions play in supporting healthy waterways. It signals a move towards more transparency and should put sound science and analysis at the centre of decision-making. However, questions remain about how this framework will be applied in practice, and when information will be made available.

• We will be digging into the background analysis as it becomes available in the hope it is robust, comprehensive, and accounts for all environmental targets.

It’s good to see this document at last, which reflects what we have been saying long-term, that with more effective land use planning we can meet our shared objectives and that nature does not need to compete with growth. A strategic framework to inform national, regional and local decisions about the way we use our land is absolutely critical to improving the health of our rivers, and to building resilience to floods and droughts, the biggest natural threats to our future prosperity.

It’s fantastic to see that Landscapes for Water is a key pillar of the vision, which hopefully means this Framework will be effectively joined up with upcoming water reforms. Recognition of the need to restore our landscapes on a large scale and provide extra support for farmers in this time of transition are also positive. The commitment to sharing more and better land use data in publicly accessible platforms and maps, is an important step in empowering local decision-making.

The Framework could provide the strategic context needed to unlock private finance and catalyse cross-sector efforts to store more water in the landscape and restore natural processes in every river catchment throughout the country. However, the missing piece of the puzzle is how this will be applied in practice. Defra have made clear that this Framework, and even its principles, remain separate from the planning process and will not be explicitly embedded in national planning policy. Given that we also do not have a timeline for when the new national map of spatial priorities will be published or Defra’s new Land Use Unit will be set up, there is a concern that this Framework will remain mere words on a page rather than driving better outcomes for people, nature, and economy.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive