WIREDGOV

In a consultation which opened recently, the Law Commission suggested that a new legal tool is needed to help conservation efforts by private landowners in England and Wales.

A conservation covenant is a private, voluntary agreement between a landowner and another body such as a conservation charity. The agreement commits the landowner to meet specific conservation obligations. These could be, for example, to maintain a habitat or preserve a historic building. If the land is sold, the conservation obligation passes to the new owner, while the conservation charity continues to monitor performance of the agreement.

Under existing law it is possible to pass obligations to a new landowner but they can be only restrictive (for example not to build on the land) and can be enforced only by someone who owns neighbouring land. This generally prevents agreements being created by charities and other bodies for the purpose of conservation for the public benefit.
Conservation covenants enable landowners to guarantee long-term protection to our environment and heritage. For example, landowners are able to sell or pass on their property safe in the knowledge that its special environmental or heritage features will continue to be protected.

Conservation covenants are already used in various other jurisdictions, including in Scotland, the USA and Australia. The Commission is asking whether conservation covenants should be introduced in England and Wales, and, if so:

• who should be able to agree a conservation covenant
• what conservation objectives would be sufficiently important to justify a covenant
• how should they be monitored and enforced, and
• when and how can the terms be changed or a conservation covenant be brought to an end?

Launching the consultation, Law Commissioner Professor Elizabeth Cooke, said:

“Conservation covenants would allow us to safeguard our natural environment and heritage for future generations. Such agreements have been used successfully in other places in the world for some time. In England and Wales, landowners who want to use their land to support conservation must currently rely on expensive and insecure workarounds. There is a clear gap in the law and the Commission is asking, is it time for that gap to be filled?

“The aim of these proposals is to protect our environment and heritage. But we must also recognise that the way land is used changes over time, and sometimes the need for development may become greater than the need for conservation. That is why we are asking not only who should be able to make and keep these agreements but also how, and in what circumstances, they can be modified and brought to an end.”

Conservation covenants are a private and voluntary property-law mechanism. The Commission is not suggesting any reform of planning law.

The consultation is open until 21 June 2013. If responses suggest the Commission should proceed with a law reform project, we would expect to produce a report and Bill by the end of 2014.

Notes for editors

1. The Law Commission is a non-political independent body, set up by Parliament in 1965 to keep all the law of England and Wales under review, and to recommend reform where it is needed.

2. For more details on this project, visit www.lawcom.gov.uk

3. For all press queries please contact:
Phil Hodgson, Head of External Relations:  020 3334 0230
Jackie Samuel:  020 3334 0216
Email:  communications@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk

Consultation documents