England’s Urban Farms Vanishing at an Alarming Rate, Charity Warns

England’s countryside is shrinking at an unprecedented pace, with more than 1,700 farms on the fringes of towns and cities wiped out since 2010, a shocking new report has revealed.

The loss is staggering 56,000 hectares of farmland gone, an area the size of Leeds, according to countryside charity CPRE. These urban-edge farms, despite making up just 11.3% of the UK’s agricultural land are powerhouses of production, supplying a disproportionate share of essential crops like wheat, oats, and barley.

But their value extends far beyond food. These farms serve as vital green buffers, safeguarding ecosystems, reducing food miles and injecting £3.3 billion into the UK economy each year. Yet, they are vanishing, swallowed by relentless urban sprawl and policy neglect.

Graeme Willis, CPRE’s agricultural lead, sounded the alarm:

“Every hectare of farmland lost is more than a statistic—it’s an irreversible erosion of our countryside and a direct threat to national resilience. If we don’t act now, we risk gutting the UK’s agricultural sector at its core.”

The crisis is deepening. Previous research has already shown that 14,000 hectares of England’s most fertile farmland have been lost to development since 2010. Worse still, 60% of the country’s remaining top-quality farmland is at serious risk of flooding, yet assessments of land quality still rely on outdated climate data from the 1940s.

CPRE is calling for urgent government intervention, demanding a joined-up approach to land use, food security, and agricultural support that recognises the indispensable role of peri-urban farms.

“This means stronger planning protections, real financial support for farmers, and a commitment to preserving farmland for future generations,” Willis warned. “Once it’s gone, we can’t get it back.”