What is Green Belt?

Greenbelt as a concept can be traced back to 1938, but it wasn’tuntil 1947 when the government created the Town & Country Planning Act and further measures in 1955, that Greenbelt became a national policy. This legislation, updated in 1990, has stood the test of time and, through regular updates, is still the backbone behind planning in England. This first introduced the concept of a national plan-led system, and in 1968, the creation of local plans.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was introduced in 2012, and this sets out the five stated aims for greenbelt land protection:

The greenbelt covers an area measuring 1,638,420 hectares (4,048,624 acres), around 12.6% of the land area of England. Whilst many think that the greenbelt is being eroded, it is in fact growing. In 2022-23, 10 local authorities adopted new plans involving changes to their Green Belt, with the result being a net increase of 870 hectares (2,150 acres) over the old plans.

There are 14 main areas of greenbelt across England, and these mainly surround the main urban centres. When considering the five purposes for having this additional protection, it has been a very successful policy, in that development can be more tightly controlled.

It is up to each local authority to set the boundaries of their greenbelt areas when they prepare their local plans. They have the incredibly difficult task of balancing this with the continued growth in housing need.

Even if land is designated greenbelt in the local plan, this does not mean to say that the protection is absolute and where ‘very special circumstances’ can be demonstrated, development within the greenbelt is possible.

When a council has an up-to-date local plan and are meeting their housing targets, they are in a very strong position to defend their local plan, and it is therefore very difficult for any developers to achieve planning on greenbelt sites.

However, where a council has an out-of-date local plan and there are no new sites coming forward for development it makes them very vulnerable to planning applications from developers and land promotors as they are able to use the lack of housing supply, particularly affordable housing, as a reason to demonstrate that ‘very special circumstances’ exist.

These planning applications are the most controversial as they’re against local policy and haven’t gone through a local plan process of allocation, as a result, often end up at an appeal where tensions can run very high for all parties.

The new government have introduced a concept of Greybelt. This has just undergone a consultation process and is likely to become law in 2025. This, in effect, creates a second division of greenbelt being created for ‘ugly’, previously developed land.

Under our plan-led system, when a new local plan is prepared, part of this would be to review the Greenbelt (if it is within the local authority area). This will test the designated areas against the above measures and greenbelt can be added or removed at this type. It has never been intended to be a barrier to development in perpetuity, but because greenbelt areas tend to be surrounded by urban environments, their value is deemed far higher than Greenfield Land.

Greenfield land can be defined as land that has not been previously developed. This can be in the countryside or in an urban area on say a disused sports pitch for example. This land can also be greenbelt.

Conversely, Brownfield land is defined as land that has been previously developed. This can also be in the countryside but more commonly in an urban area. This land can also be in the greenbelt. Generally planning policies allow for the redevelopment of previously developed land, although where it is in a greenbelt much more careful consideration might be needed to preserve or enhance its setting.