The Countryside Alliance (CA) has criticised the government’s proposed changes to compulsory purchase orders (CPO).
The group said the government will force farmers to sell their land for less than its potential value.
The alliance stated that landowners, including farmers, will have their fields bought at a small fraction of its potential value if identified by local authorities as being necessary for new homes, hospitals, or schools.
In a statement the group said: “The plans will be seen as another attack on the rural economy from the government, after last year’s Budget imposed 20% inheritance tax on farmers.”
CEO of CA, Tim Bonner, said: “We have been supportive of many of the government’s changes to planning policy, but giving councils more power to reduce the value of land is a step too far.
“This is not about people blocking development, it’s about the state paying the market price for land. We need more houses and more economic development, but not at the cost of basic principles.”
The changes to CPO are proposed in the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The bill extends an existing power to remove value attributed to the prospect of planning permissions, or ‘hope value’.
Removing the ‘hope value’ is not a new proposal as it was introduced under the previous government’s Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. The changes however focus on who can approve the removal of the ‘hope value’.
Under the proposed new rules inspectors, councils, or mayors will be able to make decisions on the issue, where there are no objections. Under the 2023 act all value removals have to be approved by the Secretary of State.
The government said the bill will improve the CPO process and land compensation rules to enable more effective land assembly through public sector-led schemes.
This includes allowing statutory notices to be delivered electronically, simplifying information required to be included in newspaper notices, more delegation of decisions, quicker vesting of land/properties, and changes to the loss payments regime.
The alliance said the plans will punish farmers, who will face pressure to sell land to pay for inheritance tax changes that come in after April 2026.
Landowners can object to a compulsory purchase order, on the grounds of procedural errors or an unreasonable decision, but the process often involves a lengthy legal battle.
Deputy vice-president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLBA), Gavin Lane said: “We urgently need more affordable housing, but pushing landowners into selling land isn’t the answer.”
