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A comparison of the differences in land consumption in England and Germany as well as an analysis of the general conditions of the English planning system show how blatant the differences between the two industrial countries are and deliver the initial explanations for the differences. In the year 2001, 40ha/year/100,000 residents were consumed in Germany (not considering recreational areas). In contrast, the corresponding statistic in England was merely 12.7 ha. The essential reasons for the success of the English system in this area of policy making seems to lie in: the English planning system, the emphasis of recycling unused plots of land within towns and the preservation of “Green Belts” as well as the English taxation system. The English example gives reason to once again contemplate the relatively high strength of community planning interests in German spatial planning. Also without major changes in the planning system, measures such as the reduction of economic incentives that promote land consumption and the further development of concepts for tradable land use permits in connection/cooperation/combination with spatial planning.

Information on agrarian structure can make a valuable contribution to supplementing the strategies embodied in sectoral plans. Benefits can accrue for the process of selecting priorities for action and deciding on what locations are to be prioritised, for the preparation of plans, and equally for decisions on the approach to the implementation of planning measures. In two research projects a method has been developed which allows information on potential and availability for implementation — as well as on the scope for synergy effects between agriculture and nature conservation — to be integrated within strategies for greenfield protection at federal state level.