The document is the result of collaboration with over 50 professionals across planning, construction, and environmental sectors and is designed to help local authorities embed soil sustainability into their local plans and decision-making processes.

“The construction industry is destroying and damaging soil at an alarming rate – we can do a much better job of protecting soils in and around construction sites.” John Quinton, Professor of Soil Science, Lancaster University

Soil is a fragile, finite and fundamental resource. It’s a vital carbon and water store and home to 56% of all biodiversity. In short, soil is critical to life on earth. Yet, we in the UK construction sector,  through poor planning and bad practice, degrade it and throw it into landfill at a rate of nearly 30 million tonnes each year. That’s ten times more soil per year than is lost from agricultural fields through erosion.

To tackle this unsustainable practice, the Soils Task Force was established in 2021 to combine world-class soil research expertise with industry and policy insights and leadership to re-think how soil sustainability is embedded in planning and construction.

Funded by the UKRI Impact Acceleration Award and supported by local authority partners, the Local Soils project promotes the inclusion of sustainable soil policies into Local Authority local plans. This builds on a previous collaboration that produced the Building on Soil Sustainability: Principles for soils in planning and construction report.  Coordinated by Lancaster University, working with Lancaster City Council and Cornwall Council, the model policy was co-created over a year long process. 

This initiative is aimed primarily at planning professionals in local authorities by providing guidance on integrating sustainability practices into their work, and thereby contributing to positive climate, food, water and biodiversity outcomes for their communities and local economies.

The launch of the Model Policy and Guide, held at JTP’s Pennington Warehouse Studio, was hosted by JTP partner Charles Campion and chaired by Jess Davies, Professor in Sustainability at Lancaster. Jess kicked off the launch presentation followed by contributions Mirian Calvo also from Lancaster University, Birgit Hontzsch from Cornwall Council, and Paul Hatch and Susanna Dart from Lancaster City Council. 

The audience heard how Lancaster City and Cornwall Councils are working to include soils policies in their emerging local plans. A lively q&a then followed with inputs from Task Force member John Quinton, Professor of Soil Science at Lamcaster University. Participants were excited by the new document and are keen to come together to support and promote the new policy and guide far and wide.

Following the launch of Local Soils Policy and Guide, a full report on how the policy was developed is coming soon and will be available on the Soils Task Force website.

If you would like more information about the Local Soils project and/or the work of the Soils Task in general please contact Charles Campion of cc@jtp.co.uk or the Soils Task Force direct via the contact form on the website home page.