Plans by the government to give the public free access for the first time to information on who owns England’s land are at risk of being scuppered by landowners, campaigners have said.

On Tuesday the government set out its proposals to lift the paywall on the Land Registry, arguing that opening it would help the UK build more houses, protect nature and improve strategic planning. The plans will be open to public consultation for eight weeks.

The Guardian has previously revealed that there are internal rifts between the government and the Land Registry – an “arm’s length body” that comes under the oversight of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government but acts largely independently – over how far to open it to scrutiny.

Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England?, urged people to get involved.…