Demanding Equitable Access to ELM for Common Land: #Include Commons
In August 2026 we met with the Farmer Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, alongside the Tenant Farmer Association (TFA). The Foundation for Common Land wrote to the Minister on 15th September 2026. Here is a summary of our asks to Defra for Common Land.
There are 3,900 active commoners in England
Our letter stressed that if we lose our hill farms the beauty of our landscapes, the biodiversity they deliver and the communities and cultural landscapes they support are at risk. ELM comprises over 60% of an average hill farm business income so if commoners cannot access ELM their business cannot provide a living wage and is unviable.
Our asks from Defra for common land are:
Equality of access to ELM for Common Land. Ideally common land could enter SFI from 22nd September 2026. Alternatively, please commit to have a 3rd SFI window for common land once the RPA has trialed their new computer portal for commons this autumn. This would address the issue of tens of thousands of hectares of common land that have no payments given BPS has finished.
Work with Natural England to ensure enough Defra group staff are allocated to expand the CSHT pipeline so all HLS agreements can transition to CSHT if they wish to and avoid gaps between schemes.
Commit now to extending all HLS agreements to December 2028 in the event a new agreement cannot be processed in time. This clarity and certainty is required for farm business planning.
Resolve the issue of defrayal of capital works expenditure. Current rules require commons associations to pay contractors for hundreds of thousands of pounds of works for tree planting and peatland restoration which is then reimbursed 100%. This is a huge barrier for doing more for nature as Associations do not have the cash flow to defray in advance.
Increase funding to the Planning Inspectorate to accelerate the processing of statutory consent for works on commons. Staff shortages have extended timeframes from 6 months to over 15 months for a decision. New RPA rules mean a CSHT agreement cannot be processed until this consent is obtained.
Strengthen governance requirements for commons agreements to ensure good use of public money and better outcomes from ELM schemes.