The government is proposing to give the public free access, for the first time, to a significant part of HM Land Registry’s data on who owns land in England and Wales, opening an eight-week consultation on the plans, The Guardian reported on 27 October.
Under the proposals, a free public dataset would identify the owners of significant landholdings, covering most land in England and Wales, while details of ordinary homeowners would not be published. Government departments and local authorities would gain free access to the register to help identify sites for homes, schools, hospitals, water and transport infrastructure. More sensitive information could be made available to investigators, civil society groups and regulators able to show a clear public interest. According to the government, the owners of at least 10% of land in England are currently unknown.
The move follows Defra’s land use framework, published in March, which pledged to “provide access to free, spatial land ownership data for larger properties”. Reporting earlier this month found no timetable had then been set for lifting the paywall, with the Land Registry describing its plans in July as “still at a very early stage”.
Roger Mortlock, chief executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, backed the plans, saying: “Making it easier to find out who owns what will help us make the most of every hectare.” Gavin Lane, president of the Country Land and Business Association, warned that “greater transparency should not come at the expense of people’s privacy, security and safety”. Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England?, urged the public to respond, cautioning that the largest landowners “may still try to scupper these plans at the last hurdle”.
For rural councils, parish councils and community land trusts searching for sites for affordable homes and local services, free ownership data would remove a cost and a delay that currently sits at the start of almost every project.
