Government Declines to Set Date for Free Public Access to Land Ownership Data in England and Wales

London: The UK government has refused to say when the public will be able to freely access information about who owns large plots of land across England and Wales, despite an earlier commitment to open up much of the Land Registry.

Emma Reynolds, the previous Secretary of State for the Environment, announced in March that the paywall restricting access to large parts of the Land Registry would be partly lifted. Campaigners had long called for the change, arguing that it would make major landowners more accountable, particularly in environmentally significant areas such as river catchments, grouse moors and peatland.

However, Reynolds did not specify a date for lifting the paywall. The Land Registry operates as an arm’s length body, a non-ministerial government department that falls under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In setting out its land use framework in March, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) committed only to working with HM Land Registry during the year to provide free, spatial land ownership data for larger properties covering the vast majority of England and Wales, while excluding almost all homeowners. The process may require a further public consultation, in addition to the one that preceded the land use framework.

In July, a Land Registry spokesperson said the organisation supported initiatives promoting more effective land use but stressed that its plans remained at a very early stage. “A number of aspects will be subject to consultation before any firm decisions are made. As such, we are currently unable to comment on timelines, what may be released, the format, or any associated attributes. We anticipate being in a position to provide more of an update early next year,” the spokesperson said.

In August, a Land Registry spokesperson said it was still unclear which parts of the data would be made public, who would be permitted to access it, and by what means.

Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of Who Owns England?, criticised the delay. “It’s ridiculous that in the 21st century the public are kept in the dark about who owns the land beneath our feet. This is data that will help councils build more homes, expose who’s polluting our rivers and help communities restore nature,” he said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who succeeded Keir Starmer this summer, has made localism a central priority of his premiership. Shrubsole argued that public access to land ownership data should form part of that agenda. “Burnham has come to power promising place-first politics, and to bring unaccountable government agencies to heel,” he said. “Who owns our land underpins any politics of place, and it’s high time the Land Registry was made to reveal this profoundly important information.”

Responding, a Defra spokesperson said the government was improving the transparency of land ownership data. “We are improving the transparency of land ownership data, and will provide free access to land ownership data for the vast majority of England, as we committed to in our land use framework. We are taking forward this commitment and will share further details as this work continues,” the spokesperson said.