Can my disused land in the Green Belt now be designated as Grey Belt?
What is the green belt?
Established in the 1950s as the Metropolitan Green Belt around London, it is a planning designation given to areas of land surrounding our towns and cities designed to stop their outward growth and to stop large towns merging into one another. Expanded significantly since it was introduced now covers almost 13% of England – around twice the area that is built on.
The National Planning Policy Framework states that development on the green belt should be regarded as “inappropriate” and local planning authorities should only grant planning permission “in very special circumstances”.
3% of England’s Green Belt has the potential to be considered grey belt but these sites are not evenly distributed. Remarkably, 41% of these sites are concentrated within London’s Green Belt, with significant numbers also found in Greater Manchester, Birmingham, and South and West Yorkshire.
For a step change in policy, the new Government has looked at and tackling the underlying reason greenbelt is restrictive. Grey Belt areas don’t have significant levels of biodiversity and aren’t used for public enjoyment and as such, are seen as potential sites for new housing developments to address the UK’s acute housing crisis.
Greenbelt policy has never required the land to be attractive or have any ecological value.
It is designed to stop urban sprawl.
Labour government’s plans for delivering new homes in the Green Belt.
They propose a new definition of ‘grey belt’ land that they see as poor-quality Green Belt including scrubland which Labour see as having little or no value for nature or access for people. If a council's housing targets cannot be met some existing green belt land will be re-designated as grey belt, which will free up land for the construction of new homes.
Brownfield sites
Previously developed land that is no longer in use or is underutilized, can be found in cities, towns, and rural areas and are often contaminated with hazardous substances.
So, what is the grey belt?
It’s unclear who coined the phrase, but the intention is to distinguish between attractive areas of nature and "poor quality and ugly areas" that happen to lie within the green belt. This might include former storage yards, disused quarries, petrol stations, wastelands, former car and caravan parks and left over spaces found on the edges of many major cities.
The NPPF defines 'Grey Belt' sites as areas within the Green Belt that consist of previously developed land and other parcels that have minimal impact on the Green Belt's core objectives, excluding land or assets with significant environmental protections.
Has anything changed?
Under the Labour plans, some low-quality green belt land will be freed up to become part of a 'grey belt' to allow new homes to be built, and that “poor-quality and ugly areas of the green belt should be clearly prioritised over nature-rich, environmentally valuable land”.
Labour have announced five golden rules for the development of any scheme built on green belt:-
Brownfield development must be prioritised ahead of green belt;
Grey belt development comes next;
Green belt development must include at least 50% affordable homes;
New public services and infrastructure must be introduced when building on the green belt;
Development must be accompanied by a plan to improve existing green spaces and create new ones accessible to local people.