The Law Commission has launched a consultation on its suggestion that a new legal tool is needed to help conservation efforts by private landowners. 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 obligation passes to the new owner.
The Commission is asking whether conservation covenants should be introduced and, if so:
- Who should be able to agree a conservation covenant;
- What conservation objectives would be sufficiently important to justify one;
- 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.
The consultation is open until the 21st June. Read more>>