New homes eroding green belt 'at fastest rate for 20 years'

The number of houses planned for England’s green belt has risen to 275,000, nearly 200,000 more than four years ago, making a mockery of government pledges to protect the countryside, a report says.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says the number of planned homes on the green belt has increased by 55,000 in a year, with the area around London and the West Midlands under particular threat.

The group accuses councils of altering green belt boundaries to accommodate housing at the fastest rate for two decades, and the government of facilitating the practice.

Paul Miner, the CPRE’s planning campaign manager, 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.”

He said brownfield land could provide at least 1m new homes, and the government should empower councils to prioritise such sites.

Last year David Cameron said protection of the green belt was paramount, reiterating the commitment made in the Conservative party’s 2015 manifesto.

The CPRE, however, points to a decision taken this month by Greg Clark, the communities and local government secretary, to approve the building of 1,500 new homes on the green belt between Gloucester and Cheltenham – one of the biggest green-belt developments for a decade - as evidence that the government is not living up to its promises.

It also highlights proposals in the government’s planning policy consultation to release small sites in the green belt for starter homes.

The total number of planned green belt houses is 274,792, based on draft and adopted local plans the CPRE complied , although it says the figure could be much higher as it may not know about all proposed developments, including ones granted contrary to national and local planning policy. In August 2012, the number of planned green belt houses was 81,000.

In the metropolitan area around London, the number of planned houses has more than tripled since August 2013 to 117,208, which is also 35% more than in March last year, according to the CPRE. Other areas to see large increases over the past year are the West Midlands, up 22% to 44,170; the north-east, up 44% to 11,550; and the north-west, up 61% to 19,024.

In the year to 2015, 11 local authorities finalised boundary changes to accommodate development despite rules stating that they should only be altered in “exceptional circumstances”. At least three – Bradford, Durham and Northumberland – have justified the change on the basis of economic growth, the CPRE says.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said it was not relaxing protections against “inappropriate development” on the green belt.

“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% of brownfield sites expected to have planning permission by the end of this parliament.

“It means that in 2014-15 just 0.02% of green belt was converted to residential use, and the green belt is actually 32,000 hectares bigger than it was in 1997.”