Environmental Law Update | April 2026

Thoughts from Richard Broadbent, Legal Director in the Environmental Law team, on the Land Use Framework published on 18 March 2026.

We’ve waited a long (long) time for the Land Use Framework (“LUF”). Despite some sceptical reaction in the media, it’s hard to argue with the central concept that we need to be more effective, more informed and more strategic about how we use land in this country.

At its heart, nature conservation has always been about sensible land use and good stewardship. It is intended that the LUF will provide the strategic direction and shared evidence base to enable that to happen, helping to move debates away from unhelpful trade offs and towards more joined up decision making.

Rather than directing specific land use outcomes, the LUF is designed to support decision‑makers at a national and local level by aligning policies, plans and investments around a common strategic approach. It seeks to address long‑standing fragmentation in land use decision‑making, where choices have often been made in silos and without a clear overview of cumulative pressures or opportunities.

The LUF does this by bringing together spatial analysis, environmental data and modelling to show how different land use demands interact and where land can deliver multiple benefits. This is intended to help decision‑makers move away from single‑objective decisions and towards more multifunctional land use that can support growth, food security, climate resilience and nature recovery at the same time. Doing this will make better use of limited resources.

Indeed, a key component of the LUF is the commitment to improve access to data and spatial tools, enabling planners, land managers, developers and communities to draw on consistent, high‑quality information alongside local knowledge. This is intended to make decisions more transparent, predictable and evidence‑led and to reduce uncertainty and conflict over land use trade‑offs. It should also foster a greater sense of environmental citizenship in which people have the information to feel empowered and get involved in environmental decision making.

Over time, the Framework is expected to be reflected in national and local strategies, including planning policy, infrastructure siting, nature recovery initiatives and land management schemes. It will be updated periodically to reflect new evidence and progress, reinforcing its role as a living framework to inform better, more joined‑up land use decisions.

The Land Use Framework can be accessed here. 

For subscribers of BusinessGreen and edie, you can access the full article which includes Richard Broadbent’s thoughts here and here. 

Wild Justice v Dartmoor Commoner’s Council

Thoughts from Richard Broadbent, Legal Director in the Environmental Law team, on the Wild Justice v Dartmoor Commoner’s Council case, for which judgment was handed down on 17 March 2026.

On 17 March, the High Court handed down its long awaited judgment in Wild Justice v Dartmoor Commoners’ Council, a judicial review concerning grazing regulation on Dartmoor commons.

The High Court held that the Dartmoor Commoners’ Council acted unlawfully by failing to carry out a lawful assessment of stocking levels, as required by section 4 of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985. As Mould J said "To rely solely on anecdotal information, as the basis for the Defendant's assessment of the number of animals which may properly be depastured on the commons from time to time, is insufficient to fulfil the Defendant's duty of reasonable inquiry under the Tameside principle". For this reason, reliance on informal knowledge and anecdotal experience was not sufficient to discharge that statutory duty. Wild Justice is of the view that stocking numbers and over grazing are ecologically damaging statutory protected sites on Dartmoor.

However, the High Court rejected the claim that the Council was under a legal duty to issue limitation notices to reduce grazing on the grounds that this is a discretionary power rather than a mandatory obligation. Grounds of challenge on the basis of bias, improper purpose and breaches of SSSI and Habitats Regulations duties were also dismissed.

Interesting from a regulation of protected sites perspective is that the High Court confirmed that the Dartmoor Commoners’ Council is both a “competent authority” for the purposes of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and a section 28G authority under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. 

However, the High Court also held that those duties were not engaged on the facts, because the Council had not acted unlawfully in declining to issue (or consider issuing) limitation notices to control grazing.

The High Court distinguished the approach taken in a case which Freeths LLP won in 2022 called R(Harris) v Environment Agency. In doing this the High Court emphasised that reg.9(3) and s.28G duties arise where a public body has exercised (or unlawfully failed to exercise) a function affecting protected sites. In Mould J's view, that threshold was not met here on the facts, adding "In my view, more detailed consideration of the impact of the Defendant's duty as competent authority under regulation 9(3) upon its decision making ... [is] ... more appropriately left to a case in which that question has arisen on the facts".

We'll see if this case opens the door to further litigation along those lines in the future.

See the full judgment here.

Environmental Outcome Report update 

In March 2023 the Government consulted on Environmental Outcome Reports ("EORs"). The consultation sought views on a proposed new system of environmental assessment to replace the current EU-derived processes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (“SEA”) and Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”). The Government has now published its response and a roadmap. 

The Government has now finally confirmed that it intends to proceed with the reform to EORs and that a new EOR regime will be in place by the end of 2027. 

The Government will consult on the proposes regulations for the new EOR regime in due course.

Strategic policy statements – Natural England and the Environment Agency

On 12 March 2026, Defra published its first strategic policy statements (“SPSs”) for the Environment Agency (“EA”) and Natural England (“NE”). These are non-statutory policies providing Government’s expectations on how NE and the EA should deliver their statutory functions. 

They are underpinned by the Government’s priority to deliver economic growth: NE and the EA are expected to support economic growth support as a cross-cutting priority, integrated into the following strategic priorities. 

For NE:

• Enhance the performance and efficiency of regulatory services
• Support nature’s recovery
• Improve health and wellbeing
• Deliver resilience through nature
• Support transformation of the water sector

For EA:

• Enhance the performance and efficiency of regulatory services
• Promote healthy air, land and water and support nature’s recovery
• Support transformation of the water sector
• Increase resilience to flooding and drought

Both SPSs require the achievement of these integrated outcomes through work with other regulators and through strategic environmental solutions.

The respective SPSs can be found at the following links: Strategic Policy Statement for Natural England and Strategic Policy Statement for the Environment Agency.