New report lays out how the UK can unlock solutions to the pressures on land
2 April 2025
From tree planting to house building, it is estimated that an area more than twice the size of Wales is needed to meet all the UK’s land use policy targets.
Yet there is no more land. If we want to meet these targets, we need to be innovative with how we use the land we have.
Today’s report, published by the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), in partnership with three national research initiatives – the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), Land Use for Net Zero, People & Nature Hub (LUNZ) and Agri-Food for Net Zero Network+ (AFN+) – sets out how the UK can support innovation to address these pressures on land.
The report comes during Government’s consultation on a Land Use Framework for England. Professor Tom MacMillan, Elizabeth Creak Chair in Rural Policy and Strategy at the RAU, who led the research, said: “Using land wisely is in everyone’s interest and more crucial than ever. Meeting all the needs that depend on land, from food and nature to houses and green energy, will take creative solutions.
“UK businesses, researchers and policy makers are pioneering many of these, like the developers building affordable, climate friendly houses with timber and the start-ups making apps that help farmers or planners decide what’s best to do where.
“By backing these innovators, investing in the infrastructure to connect entrepreneurs and research, Government can not only help on the ground but also make sure the UK reaps the economic rewards of meeting similar needs globally.”
Later this year, the RAU will launch support for the land use sector using online and existing on-site facilities. The University also led this research to explore what the sector needs from its proposed Innovation Village on a 29-acre site at its Cirencester campus.