Land Use Framework for England

In its response to the Land Use Framework consultation, the IFM highlighted the need to re naturalise our water bodies and make space for water and for nature in buffers alongside rivers, and promoted making spatial and long-term decisions about where and how we farm and build homes and infrastructure that reduce risks from flooding and enables water bodies to cleanse and re naturalise. In its Land Use Framework for England, government has recognised landscapes for water and nature recovery (making more space for nature) in its visions for land use in 2030 and 2050. This is welcome. Of concern however is the lack of specific references to river corridor restoration in the spatial analyses of land use change needed – see Table 1: Approximate areas and percentages of total land in England and Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) in England that may need to change in use or management by 2050.

Likewise, that there is no clear linkage made to the nature in our rivers, lakes, and coastlines, including fish, and the quality of their habitats. At its simplest, more needs to be said in the visions, and more needs to be built into land use change plans to accommodate river channel and corridor restoration. All the benefits aspired to from having “wilder river habitats” require much better consideration of what space is needed to create them and/or create themselves.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-use-framework