UK farmland at risk under system using 1940s data
Data from the 1940s is being used to classify and protect England’s most valuable and productive farmland, potentially undermining the UK’s ability to grow its own food, reveals a new report commissioned by CPRE, the countryside charity.
The ALC system determines the potential productivity of farmland using data including rainfall measured between 1941 and 1970 and temperatures measured between 1961 and 1980.
The new report demonstrates that continuing to rely on the current ALC system is leading to a substantial overestimation of the productivity of land, with much less of it likely to be considered Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land for food production.
The situation is particularly critical for lowland peat soils, which produce around 40% of UK-grown vegetables. Climate change impacts could see these vital soils lost in a matter of decades, raising serious questions about the accuracy of their current ALC grades.
These findings follow the loss of 14,000 hectares of prime agricultural land to development since 2010.
The government recently launched a long-awaited consultation on a strategic land-use framework for England. While the ALC should form a core part of these deliberations, in its current form it cannot reliably inform the critical decisions that need to be made about competing land uses.
Climate change is already drastically reducing the amount of land suitable for food production, with 60% of England’s highest-grade farmland now at high risk of flooding. Meanwhile, land is under increasing pressure for housing, renewable energy infrastructure and nature restoration.
Without an updated ALC system incorporating accurate assessments of agricultural land quality, there is a real risk that irreversible decisions will be made about land use that compromise the nation’s ability to produce its own food.
CPRE is calling on the government to take urgent action to better understand and protect England’s highest-quality farmland. The government should:
- Update the ALC using up-to-date climate data
- Re-survey lowland peatlands, which are highly productive but particularly vulnerable to degradation
- Strengthen planning system protections for BMV land
- Incorporate the updated ALC into the broader Land Use Framework
Roger Mortlock, chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: ‘The government is making crucial decisions using data from when Winston Churchill was prime minister.
‘The new Land Use Framework is an opportunity to make the best possible use of our finite land and balance competing demands from food production, nature recovery, clean energy and housing. If that’s going to work, a long overdue rethink of Agricultural Land Classification is needed.
‘Done well, the new framework could help us build new homes and infrastructure in the most suitable and strategic locations, support nature’s recovery and help to tackle the climate crisis – all while ensuring our most important farmland is able to put food on people’s plates.’
Ellie Brodie, director of Grounded Insight and report author, said: This report opens the lid on how agricultural land is classified. It leaves no doubt that the information used in planning decisions about the potential of England’s land to grow food must be updated. This is especially urgent given that the current Agricultural Land Classification system looks likely to be part of the new Land Use Framework.
Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of The Lie of the Land, said: The climate crisis, fenland drainage and intensive agriculture are destroying the fertility of England’s soils and our ability to grow food.
‘For too long, politicians have refused to even acknowledge this emergency, while the previous government cancelled a planned review of the ALC. This is why it’s essential that the present government urgently updates it as part of delivering a bold new Land Use Framework.’
The new report can be accessed here: https://www.cpre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Decision-making-in-land-use-planning.pdf