An ambitious government plan to restore nature across England has been significantly weakened, conservationists warn, after the introduction of a clause allowing contracts to be terminated with only a year's notice. This move, coupled with a drastic reduction in promised funding, threatens to cripple the long-term project designed to create vast wildlife habitats.
Funding Slashed and Contracts Rendered 'Unworkable'
The landscape recovery scheme is the most ambitious part of the government's environmental land management (Elms) programmes, which replaced EU farming subsidies. Initially, it was slated to receive a third of the annual £2.4bn farming budget. However, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds this week announced it would get just £500m over 20 years—a fraction of the original expectation.
Jake Fiennes, conservation director at the Holkham estate—a pilot site for the scheme—was scathing about the sum. "£500m over 20 years is sod all," he said. "If you understand the environment and food budget is £2.4bn annually, this is a fifth of that over 20 years. A tiny fraction of it for the most ambitious nature schemes."
More critically, farmers and landowners have discovered their contracts contain a 'termination for convenience' clause, permitting the government to end agreements without cause after a 12-month notice period. Conservationists argue this makes the schemes unworkable, as landowners could be left with rewilded land they cannot farm and insufficient time to return it to agricultural use.
Private Investment Unlikely Amidst Uncertainty
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has suggested the funding gap could be filled by private investment. This claim has been met with widespread scepticism. Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union, stated that attracting private money has already proven challenging and that the new contract uncertainty makes it even less likely.
"If you’ve done potentially irreversible land use change, you are up a creek without a paddle," explained Jake Fiennes. "Pension funds, banks – if they know there is a commitment from government for a set period, they will top this up, but at the moment it can be struck off in a year."
Toby Perkins, chair of the environmental audit committee, echoed these concerns, expressing scepticism that the £25m annual funding was anywhere near adequate for the scale of the task.
A 'Huge Step Backwards' for Nature on Farmland
The government's latest environmental improvement plan has also been criticised for diluting overall targets for nature on farmland. Alice Groom, head of sustainable land policy at the RSPB, highlighted a dramatic reduction in ambition.
"In just two years, we’ve gone from needing 65–80% of farmers to manage 10% of their land for nature, to a new target of just 41% of farmers managing only 7%," Groom said. "That is a huge step backwards... It risks locking in further decline."
She pointed to falling populations of species like corn buntings and turtle doves as evidence of deeper systemic stress on pollinators, insects, soils, and climate-resilient landscapes.
The broader suite of nature-friendly farming schemes has been plagued by difficulties. The Labour government cut funding by £100m and temporarily froze the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), though ministers plan to reopen it in the new year.
A Defra spokesperson defended the plans, stating: "The £500m for landscape recovery projects is a downpayment which will go a long way to protecting and restoring nature across England." However, with experts warning of low take-up due to financial and contractual insecurity, the future of large-scale rewilding in England appears increasingly uncertain.
