Map of green belt under threat over Labour’s 1,500,000 homes housing target
Councils across the UK are set to be forced to surrender parts of the green belt to achieve new government housing targets, it has been announced.
The government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over five years butthe plans have sparked controversy because local authorities will be forced to review green belt boundaries.
The country’s ‘grey belt’ land – low quality areas of the green belt – will be prioritised under the national planning policy.
But critics say development on the green belt risks the loss of green space and natural habitats.
One of those critics is the National Trust – which says Angela Rayner’s plans to build 370,000 homes a year, could taint the green belt.
Ingrid Samuel, the National Trust’s Placemaking and Heritage Director, told Metro: ‘We are concerned that the confirmed green belt changes, alongside much higher new housing targets, will give a green light to speculative development before local plans are in place.
‘This is likely to result in the loss of green space, a lack of supporting infrastructure and poor outcomes for communities and nature, falling short on the government’s own goals.
‘Developers need to play their part, and we urge government to ensure that sites that already have planning permission are developed first and ensure new tests on “viability” aren’t used to get around the “golden rules” on nature and access.’
Kevin Hollinrake, shadow housing secretary, also voiced his opposition to the policy.
He said: ‘Labour will bulldoze through the concerns of local communities. If Labour really want homes to be built where they are needed, they must think again.’
Ms Rayner has remained steadfast in her housing policy solution, saying people’s housing needs should be prioritised over the needs of newts.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary said previous governments had got the balance wrong.
She hit back at further criticism during the announcement and pledged ‘bold and decisive action’ to fix the country’s housing crisis.
‘From day one I have been open and honest about the scale of the housing crisis we have inherited,’ she said.
‘This mission-led government will not shy away from taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it for good.
‘I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.’
Part of the government’s plan to fend off criticism is its news ‘golden rule approach’.
This means that any development on the green belt also requires developers to provide infrastructure like GP surgeries, transport and nurseries.
To help ease the process, government will give local councils £300million and 300 more planning officers.
This is a move welcomed by Mike Childs, Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth.
He told Metro: ‘We need millions more affordable homes across the country and we have to accept that some of these will be on the green belt.
‘There is a balance to be struck though, so where development does occur, other infrastructure needs to be put in place.
‘I understand why some critics are opposed to the housing plans but the reality is there is a housing crisis.
‘Young people are faced with high rents and unaffordable housing so I would welcome rent controls to help young people to get onto the housing ladder.
‘Our concern is for a good future for the next generation and this needs to be tackled in a rational manner.’
According to the government, 1.3 million households are on on council house waiting lists and 160,000 homes with children, are living in temporary accommodation.
This means areas targeted under new plans are those most out of reach for ordinary people so have the greatest potential for growth.
The Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told the House of Commons brownfield land would not be enough to deliver housing targets.
But he hit back at the opposition’s remarks that the government was ‘concreting over’ green belt land.
He said the government listened to feedback from councils who wanted housing to be better targeted at areas where affordability pressures were acute.
The Local Government Association (LGA) spokesman Adam Hug said councils and communities are ‘best placed to make judgement decisions on how to manage competing demand for land’.
What is a green belt?
A green belt is an area of open land around a city, on which development is restricted.
It is used to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding urban areas.
Green belt areas tend to surround major urban areas in the UK, like outside London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield.
The main objective of them is to prevent urban sprawl from major cities and to give people who live in cities access to nearby countryside.
It also helps protect rural communities from being exposed to urban sprawl.
The green belt currently covers 13% of England and was established over 70 years ago.
What is a ‘grey belt’?
The ‘grey belt’ is a term used by the government to describe poor-quality land in the green belt that could be used for housing development.
This is land that is in the green belt that’s underutilised, has little value for nature, or makes a limited contribution to the green belt’s purposes.
Examples include scrubland, wastelands, former car parks, and land on the fringes of existing settlements.
The whole part of the government’s national planning policy is to reclassify parts of green belt land as grey belt to make more land available for housing development.
What has the government said about housing targets before?
The previous Conservative government had two housebuilding targets.
This included 300,000 new homes a year and one million new homes over the whole Parliament, fewer than the current Labour government target.
Figures for housebuilding in 2023-24 are yet to be released but annual figures for 2021-22 and 2022-23 were just short of 235,000 each year when the last Tory government was in power.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: I fear Wes Streeting is following in Tony Blair’s footsteps
MORE: Bills will be cut for people living near green power sites under new plans
MORE: Woman evicted from flat two hours after paying deposit
World News || Latest News || U.S. News
Source link