The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is a membership organisation representing

landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...

, property owners and businesses owners in England and Wales. Until 2000, the organisation was known as the Country Landowners Association. The CLA publishes the monthly ''Land and Business'' magazine

Membership

CLA members own or manage 10 million acres, over 50% of the rural land in England and Wales. Its 28,000-strong membership includes landowners, farmers and rural businesses.

Function

The CLA states that it "is the only organisation dedicated to defending your interests as a landowner and is your only truly independent and authoritative source of advice." It offers members a support and advice network through a free in-house policy, legal, and tax advisory service, as well as offering networking opportunities for landowners and rural businesses. The CLA lobbies to protect its members' interests in relation to rural issues at local, national and EU levels.

Activities

The Policy team, based in the London office, offers advice on tax and legal, environment and conservation, agriculture and land management, as well as planning, housing and heritage. This includes issues such as the right to roam, reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, heritage, rural housing, renewable energy and taxation. Six regional offices include teams of rural surveyors and advisers for local branch members.

History

The Country Landowners’ Association was founded in 1907 in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. As of 1910, the CLA had a membership of 1,000, including 100 Members of Parliament. By 1918, the CLA had 8,000 members. In 2000, the Country Landowners association changed its name to the Country Land and Business Association starting in 2001. This was done in part to distance the CLA from the perception of representing privileged

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

. The organisation celebrated its centenary in 2007. Journalist Charles Clover wrote ''The History of the CLA'' to celebrate the anniversary. In 2023, ''

OpenDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage d ...

'' reported that the CLA had successfully lobbied the government against abolishing the deadline of

right to roam The freedom to roam, or everyone's right, every person's right or everyman's right, is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the ...

claims.

Structure

The CLA is governed by the CLA Council. There is a small board of directors that is responsible for the running of the CLA. There is a main corporate office based in London and also six regional offices: *

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

* South East * South West *

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

CLA Game Fair

The CLA no longer runs the CLA Game Fair. It announced in September 2015 that it "could no longer ask CLA members to allow their membership subscriptions to underwrite the losses the event makes."

References

Works cited

External links

Official website of the CLAFlooding in Lincolnshire in July 2007Livestock in July 2004Postcards in February 2002
{{Authority control 1907 establishments in the United Kingdom Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom Landowners' organizations Organizations established in 1907 Business organisations based in the United Kingdom