Councils have been accused of altering green belt boundaries, leading to an increase in the number of new homes being built on this land…
The number of planned homes on green belt land has increased by 55,000 in a year, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
In a new report from the organisation it has been revealed the number of homes planned on England’s green belt has risen to 275,000—nearly 200,000 more than four years ago. The CPRE report called this disregard for green belt land a mockery of government pledges to protect the countryside.
According to the report, the areas most at risk are around London and the West Midlands. The organisation said councils were altering green belt boundaries to ensure new housing could be built, and said the government was aiding the process.
Planning campaign manager at the CPRE, Paul Miner said: “Councils are increasingly eroding the green belt to meet unrealistic and unsustainable housing targets. The government is proposing to encourage further development in the green belt.
“Our green belt is invaluable in preventing urban sprawl and providing the countryside next door for 30 million people. We need stronger protection for the green belt, not just supportive words and empty promises.”
Protection of the green belt land was a pledge made by David Cameron just last year and formed a part of the Conservative party’s 2015 manifesto.
Despite this, the CPRE said Communities Secretary Greg Clark had approved 1,500 new homes on green belt between Gloucester and Cheltenham just this month. This decision represents the largest development on green belt for a decade.
Miner said the government should be pushing councils to build on brownfield, which could provide up to one million new properties.
The report brought together data from draft and adopted local plans, which revealed the number of planned green belt homes stands at 274,792—although this figure could be higher, as not all proposed developments are known about.
The figures are considerably more than seen in August 2012, where the number of planned homes on green belt land stood at 81,000.
A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “Ministers have repeatedly been clear that demand for housing alone will not justify changing green belt boundaries,” he said.
“Councils are already expected to prioritise development on brownfield sites, with 90 per cent of brownfield sites expected to have planning permission by the end of this parliament.
“It means that in 2014-15 just 0.02 per cent of green belt was converted to residential use, and the green belt is actually 32,000 hectares bigger than it was in 1997.”
