The government has unveiled proposals to find land for solar farms, plant trees and improve habitats for birds, insects and fish, in another blow to farmers amid an inheritance tax row.
Environment secretary Steve Reed is set to launch a consultation for the land use framework, promoted by Labour as a guide to better manage England’s finite agricultural land in the face of climate change and the net zero transition.
Under the plans, the highest quality agricultural land will remain protected for food production, the government said. But ministers will also look into how and where land can be used for other needs, such as solar farms, reservoirs, roads, new woodlands and new towns.
With land use long seen as a sensitive and politically thorny issue, the environment secretary will insist that the framework “will not tell people what to do”.
However, there is widespread speculation that 9 per cent of farmland would need to be removed from food production by 2050 to meet net zero targets. This creates a further setback to farmers who are likely to step up their campaign against the government’s inheritance tax reforms.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union, said it was “imperative this framework does not further restrict farmers’ ability to produce the nation’s food”, adding the UK’s farming industry has already “taken a battering”.
“We need transparency, engagement and a government that is willing to listen,” he said. ”Only then will we get a land use framework that delivers for consumers, for the environment and for British agriculture.”
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, further warned the government’s proposal should not be “partitioning up the countryside”.
From April 2026, the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax. But for assets over £1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50 per cent relief, at an effective rate of 20 per cent.
The proposed tax raid has become a political flashpoint for the farming industry crippled by rising costs, tough market conditions and worsening climate impacts.
The NFU is staging a series of events on Saturday as part of a so-called National Day of Unity, with farmers bringing food, tractors and livestock to town centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
With the framework proposals likely to see pushback from some in the farming sector, Mr Reed will reiterate his message that food production remains a priority.
The environment secretary is expected to announce during a speech at the Royal Geographical Society on Friday, that the “start of a national conversation” on how the country can meet multiple land objectives and contribute to the wider pursuit of economic growth.
The government has recently shifted its rhetoric to focus on the prioritisation of growth above all else, vowing to take on “NIMBYs” and overhaul environmental regulations to drive through major infrastructure projects.
But the Environment Secretary will set out the new policy as a strategic approach to meeting national targets on water, nature and climate as well as shoring up food security and boosting the economy.
“The primary purpose of farming will always be to produce food that feeds the nation,” he is set to say.
“This framework will give decision makers the toolkit they need to protect our highest quality agricultural land.”
Mr Reed will also argue that the land use framework is about “working together to pool our knowledge and resources, to give local and national government, landowners, businesses, farmers and nature groups the data and tools they need to take informed actions that are best for them, best for the land, and best for the country”.
As part of the consultation, the government will hold workshops with farmers, landowners and other stakeholders across the country over the next few weeks.
Interested groups will be asked about the best ways to incentivise and deliver the shift of agriculturally unproductive land towards diverse purposes.
Alongside draft proposals, the government will publish data on how England’s land is currently used as well as modelling what future land use may look like.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance said: “A land use framework is an important step forward in determining how we go forward for farming, nature and net zero. This should not, however, be about partitioning up the countryside but ensuring that we deliver all requirements together in the most effective way. The future is farming and nature, not farming or nature”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the government should be making life easier for farmers, not “adding even more burdens”.
“I have been talking to farmers this year, since the budget. What they are doing with the family farm tax, the family business tax, the rise in national insurance, is killing farmers in our country.”
