It is universally accepted that the supply of affordable homes in England, as well as in the rest of the UK, has failed to keep up with the demands of population growth and the proliferation of the nuclear family and single parenthood. It is therefore not unexpected that, among other things, the new Labour government has been forced to consider various options for homebuilding. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer had promised at the Labour Party Conference in October 2023 to build 1.5 million homes over the ensuing parliamentary term if successful, including on so-called “poor-quality” Green Belt sites. Once in power, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was quick to announce, in July 2024, an overhaul of the planning system to allow these so-called low-quality sites to be designated part of a ‘grey belt’, on which new homes are to be built.
The term Green Belt is credited to the social reformer Octavia Hill in 1875, although the underlying concept of a “green” buffer zone between urban areas and the rural hinterland has earlier origins. Back in 1580, Queen Elizabeth I promoted a short-lived three-mile-wide ‘cordon sanitaire’ around the city of London. In more recent times, Ebenezer Howard presented his idea of ‘Garden Cities’, encircled by green belts of countryside, in 1898. In 1919, the Town and Country Planning Association was keen on rural belts surrounding towns. The London Society and the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) further championed the concept in the 1920s. Matters were taken forward by the Greater London Regional Planning Committee in its proposals of 1935.
The Greater London Regional Planning Committee’s championing of Green Belts was to be followed by the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938, creating the Metropolitan Green Belt, which accounts for 31 per cent of the total Green Belt area in England and takes in parts of eight counties. The same year, local authorities in Sheffield set up their own Green Belt. The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 subsequently empowered other local authorities to designate Green Belts and introduced the system of planning permission. The 1955 Ministry of Housing Circular 42/55 to all local planning authorities then recommended the consideration of Green Belts in their development plans. Green Belts are currently regulated by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) of 2012, which was updated in 2019, 2021, and 2023. There are now 16 Green Belts in England, alongside 30 in NI, ten in Scotland, and just one in Wales.
Green Belt land is designated land surrounding urban cores, meant to prevent urban sprawl and to retain the openness of the countryside. According to the NPPF, Green Belt land is designed to check urban sprawl and to prevent the merger of neighbouring towns by preventing encroachment on surrounding countryside, while also preserving the setting and character of historic towns and promoting inner city regeneration by the recycling of disused urban land.
The Green Belt accounted for 12.6 per cent (1, 638, 420 hectares) of the land area of England, as of 31 March 2023. This Green Belt land is not all “green”, beautiful, or of ecological value, the term often being confused with verdant, so-called ‘greenfield’ sites that have never been built open. It includes areas of low ecological quality, sometimes referred to as the ‘grey belt’, in which can be found unused car parks and petrol stations, abandoned warehouses, empty land adjacent to railway stations, and unsightly scrubland and wasteland on the edges of town-none of which not warrant environmental protection. Publicly accessible parks and other open spaces account for only about 22 per cent of the Metropolitan Green Belt. It is also worth noting that many areas of environmental value and rich biodiversity are to be found in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), National and Local Nature Reserves, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)- away from the Green Belt.
As it stands, some forms of property developments are currently approved within Green Belts. These include buildings for agricultural or forestry use; appropriate facilities for outdoor sport and recreation, cemeteries, and allotments; appropriately sized extensions, alterations, or replacement of existing buildings that are to be used for the same purpose; limited infilling (building new properties in gaps between existing buildings) in some villages; and limited affordable housing for local community needs. Green Belt developments can also be justified under ‘very special circumstances’, such as building homes for agricultural or forestry workers, and ‘Paragraph 80’ homes that represent outstanding architectural design.
But according to the CPRE, the availability of land is not the limiting factor in housebuilding. Green Belts deserve to be protected, as they promote “physical, mental, and social wellbeing”. Instead, better use of brownfield sites, which have previously housed permanent structures, and the renovation and repurposing of existing buildings are essential. The opportunity cost of the Green Belt is thus a shortage of available land on which to build and a consequent lack of housing.
The debate over the Green Belt continues, encouraging strong emotions on both sides. Allegations of NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard) and a ‘war on rural England’ qualify the many objections to Green Belt developments, often from naturally Conservative voters, even as many right-wing think tanks take a contrary view. What seems clear is that the Green Belt needs to be redefined, as appropriate brownfield sites, free from contamination or not taken up by wildlife in default, appear to be in short supply. According to those in the know, developing just 2 per cent of existing Green Belt land could help deliver between 1.7 and 2.1 million new homes. It is ultimately a matter of achieving the right balance and ensuring that local infrastructure is capable of meeting the needs of an influx of residents to their new homes. Whatever your personal perspective, the process of constructing new homes in England remains a major challenge, with many obstacles ahead.
Ashis Banerjee