The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has said that the new Land Use Framework, published by the Government today, is long on aspiration and short on the level of granularity that many will have been hoping for to assist in making local decisions on competing land use needs.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “There has been a great deal of expectation built up around this document over its years of development under both the last administration and the current Government. Whilst seeking to assure us that England is well placed to deliver the multifunctional objectives required of our land for food, housing, commercial development, environment, nature, energy and climate, it is relatively light on how that juggling act is going to be sustained in practice.”

Whilst the TFA is pleased to see that the document stresses the importance of profitable agriculture and maintaining levels of existing food production from sustainable farming, it is a worry that the Framework envisages only agriculture is earmarked to sacrifice land to concentrate on climate and nature objectives. The area of land used for non-agricultural uses and housing is expected to expand under this Framework, with little or no apparent contribution to environmental outcomes.

“The TFA has long argued that agricultural and environmental outputs can be delivered side-by-side with carefully thought through and clear planning. The Framework highlights the need to protect the best and most versatile agricultural land, but underestimates the contribution that more marginal land brings to the structure of the agricultural industry, particularly for livestock, and the huge environmental benefits that are provided through simply farming that land sustainably. Our upland areas, protected sites and grasslands are vital both to the farming industry and to the delivery of vital climate and nature objectives,” said Mr Dunn.

There is welcome recognition within the Framework of the unique issues faced by the tenanted sector of agriculture and the need to address those challenges directly.

“The Framework rightly stresses that we must break down the barriers that tenant farmers often face in diversifying their activities, even to focus on outcomes for nature alongside their traditional farming activities. It was also good to see that there is recognition of the need to up-rate the compensation provided to tenant farmers to recognise the disruption to their livelihoods when they lose land from their tenancies to give way to alternative uses. The Framework points to the forthcoming Law Commission review of legislation governing farm tenancies which needs to be undertaken. However, the start of that work is still a year away and will then take at least three years to complete. The TFA urges the Government to work with the Law Commission to bring its review forward and to deliver it within a shorter timeframe,” said Mr Dunn.