The UK government has not provided a timeline for making ownership data for large plots of land in England and Wales freely accessible, leaving the scale and details of land ownership largely behind a paywall.
In March, Emma Reynolds, then secretary of state for the environment, announced plans to partially lift the paywall that protects substantial volumes of records held by HM Land Registry and said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would work towards free access for data on large land parcels. Since that announcement ministers have declined to set out when the changes will take effect.
HM Land Registry is the government's official register of property and land ownership in England and Wales. Much of the detailed data it holds is currently available only behind a paid access system, a situation ministers have indicated they intend to address but have not yet scheduled.
Defra's silence on a timetable leaves questions over when researchers, journalists and members of the public will be able to consult comprehensive ownership records without charge. The department has said it is working on the matter but has not published a timeline or milestones for delivering free access.