UK government proposes opening Land Registry data — The Guardian

The UK government has proposed giving the public free access for the first time to a significant portion of Land Registry data on landowners in England and Wales. The initiative provides for an eight-week public consultation, and campaigners fear that major landowners may try to stop it.

As The Guardian reports, the government believes that opening the data will help plan housing construction, infrastructure development and environmental protection measures. At present, it is unknown who owns at least 10% of land in England, a government representative said.

Data for communities and authorities

Under the proposal, public bodies, including government departments and local authorities, will be able to use registry information free of charge. This is intended to make it easier to find sites for building housing, schools and hospitals, developing water and transport infrastructure, and protecting the environment.

They also plan to create a free publicly accessible dataset on owners of significant landholdings, which will cover most land in England and Wales. At the same time, data on ordinary homeowners will not be published. More sensitive information may be available to investigators, civil society organizations and regulators if they demonstrate that there is a public interest.

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Positions of supporters and landowners

Guy Shrubsole, author of the book “Who Owns England?”, urged the public to take part in the consultation. In his view, the proposal could reveal information about the owners of the majority of land in England and Wales, but the largest landowners may still obstruct its implementation.

Roger Mortlock, chief executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, supported the initiative, saying that ownership transparency would help make more effective use of limited land resources for housing, infrastructure, food production and nature restoration.

Gavin Lane, president of the Country Land and Business Association, which represents landowners and rural businesses, warned that disclosing additional personal data could create risks of fraud and personal data abuse for families. According to Lane, greater transparency must not come at the expense of people’s privacy, safety and security.