ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the way in which land is transferred from one use to another. It begins with a brief statement on the current allocation of land amongst uses and the pattern of ownership. Questions of taxation and its effect upon land values are then discussed and the processes of land transfer from agriculture to urban use and from agriculture to forestry are considered in turn. The issues arising from the recent Community Land Act and the Development Land Tax Act are outlined. The pattern of land use in Britain is dominated by agriculture which, according to Edwards accounts for more than four-fifths of our land surface. The controversy over conversion centres around two main types of question which are discussed in turn: the rate of transfer and whether this threatens future food production, and the evaluation of particular conversions.
