The UK has approximately 60 million acres of land in total and 70% (approximately) of this land is owned by 1% of the population.

Until recently this land mass was owned by only 6,000 or so landowners, including large institutions and the Crown. However, there has been a recent shift in ownership of land as it becomes a more attractive asset to people other than traditional land owners. It is particularly attractive when it can be bought and sold in acreages suitable for the private investor who wants to buy land for long term speculation.

Land within development boundaries identified in Local Authority Development Plans is open game for developers who can make planning applications for development within the relevant guidelines or who can alternatively make representations to amend the guidelines themselves bearing in mind our national directives. The twenty eight day usage rule also permits landowners to try out innovative ideas, recreational and profitable, without having to obtain any planning at all.

• Commercial Development
  Storage, Wind Farming, Aviation
  
• Agriculture
  Farming, Organic Farming, Horticulture, Fisheries, Woodland
  
• Leisure
  Equestrian, Fisheries, Hobby Farming, Touring Caravans & Camp Sites, Motor Sports, Adventure Holidays, Archery and Paint Balling, Cricket, Football, Golf and Tennis
  

So what determines land use today? As indicated above, twenty-first century UK land has become increasingly useable in all sorts of ways, limited only by your imagination, wallet and Planning Policy, and definitely not in this order…