The Government previously described the grey belt as “poor-quality and ugly areas” and “poor-quality scrub land, mothballed on the outskirts of towns” that lie within the green belt. The green belt is an area of countryside around cities and towns that is protected from development.
But planning reforms at the end of 2024 are now leading to agricultural farmland and green fields being concreted over, to residents’ dismay, The i Paper has found.
Basildon Council and St Albans City and District Council have approved developments on farmland in the green belt this year, with more expected to follow, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow Housing Secretary, said Labour had invented grey belt land as a “Trojan horse” to undermine green belt protections and “are now bulldozing the countryside”.
Dr Richard Moore said it was “crazy” to describe the area as “grey” (Photo: Alexa Phillips)What is the green belt?
The green belt is an area of countryside around cities and towns that is protected from development.
According to the National Planning Policy Framework, the “fundamental aim” of Green Belt policy is to “prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence”.
Green belt serves five purposes:
to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban landPaul Miner, head of policy and planning at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, warned that the planning changes, which took effect in December, “are going to lead to a loss of valuable countryside”.
Mr Miner said the definition of grey belt is “very vague” and “there’s still quite a lot of detail that hasn’t been properly explained”.
Alasdair Daw said the targets are too high for local need (Photo: Alexa Phillips)In defence of the plan, Labour previously said: “We don’t think it is right that wastelands and old car parks located on the green belt are given the same protections in national policy as rolling hills and nature spots in the green belt.”
The fields that have been deemed grey belt are about a kilometre deep (Photo: Alexa Phillips)
In the town of Billericay, thousands of dismayed residents have joined a campaign group to fight back against plans to build on the green belt.
Last month Basildon Council made what is believed to be the first grey belt decision in the country, approving a proposal for 250 homes on agricultural land near Laindon Road.
Andrew Baggott, leader of the Conservative group on Basildon council, believes what is happening in Billericay is a harbinger of what is coming in other parts of the country. Because “grey belt” is widely open to interpretation, he said it “favours the developer”. (Photo: Alexa Phillips)A short drive from Laindon Road is another similar proposal for 480 houses, which is expected to be approved next week. Others are set to follow.
A third development on this field is expected to be approved next week (Photo: Alexa Phillips)
Alasdair Daw, who leads the local Billericay Action Group, said it has become “a lot harder” for developments on green spaces to be blocked since Labour won the election.
“Nobody is opposed to areas which are basically semi-derelict, like a former bus station or a petrol station being redeveloped if it happens to be in the green belt,” he said.
He said many of his constituents feel “utterly betrayed by Labour”.
250 homes have been approved on this field (Photo: Alexa Phillips)‘Sold down the river’
Andrew Schrader, a Conservative councillor in Billericay, said they have been “sold down the river”.
“‘Grey belt’ is a sleight of hand by the Labour Government, designed to enable local councils like Basildon to downgrade and give away their irreplaceable green belt.”
The whole area has been earmarked for development under the council’s local plan, which will make it easy for builders to get planning permission on its other parts. A walk along its footpaths reaches Frith Wood, an ancient woodland.
“Look at it,” he said, gesturing around the site. “This is not grey. This isn’t land that’s been used before for rubbish dump or whatever. This is arable land. We’re going to lose that.”
Alan Barford said this was the “last place” that should be built on (Photo: Alexa Phillips)“It’s absolutely preposterous that it’s been classed as grey belt,” she said. “This is a classic example of something that really is nowhere near a grey belt definition.”
“It’s very much the developers that are running housebuilding in this country, aided and abetted by this Government and this council,” she added.
Richard Walker doubts locals will be able to afford these new homes (Photo: Alexa Phillips)Residents cast doubt on ‘affordable’ housing promises
In accordance with Labour’s rules for grey belt sites, the developer has promised that 45 per cent of the homes built will be “affordable” – but residents have grown wary of such promises.
Following lobbying by builders, Labour watered down an election promise for 50 per cent affordable homes on grey belt sites, reducing the figure to 15 percentage points more than in the local housing plan.
“For a lot of the promises that both the council are making and the developers are making, there are no consequences for not achieving them,” said Deborah Taylor, who lives near the proposed development. “For things like affordable homes, we’re already seeing builders saying, ‘It’s not financially viable for me to do that now, so I’m going to cut it.'”
Labour’s planning changes have made it harder for developers to back out of affordable housing commitments on green belt sites, but the Campaign to Protect Rural England said this has yet to be tested.
Richard Walker, 60, said his children cannot afford to buy a home in the area and he does not see how the new builds will change that.
“When they say it’s affordable – affordable for who? I don’t believe that,” he said.
Mr Walker, a deployment manager who has lived here for 30 years, remembers buying his first three-bedroom semi-detached home with his wife here 30 years ago and paying £62,000. A similar home would now cost upwards of £300,000, with two-bedroom flats at upwards of £200,000.
The Government’s definition of affordable homes includes social homes rented out by councils, but it also considers more expensive options such as those at 80 per cent of local market rents, those at rents between market rents and social rents, and shared ownership homes.
Ms Taylor, who is retired, wants to see developers use the planning permissions they already have – and lose them if they do not.
Developers have left more than 1.4 million homes unbuilt since 2007 despite securing planning permission for them, according to a report published earlier this month by the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank.
When he comes to meet me, he has brought a sign from one of residents’ protests, which is addressed to Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan but makes a playful reference to the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which is partly set in Billericay, Essex. “Hay” Gavin, Stacey says Wot’s occurin’ to our lush green belt, the sign reads.
Gavin Taylor holds a map of the green belt areas that have been earmarked for development in orange (Photo: Alexa Phillips)Mr Barford worries the extra homes will worsen traffic on already-busy streets. “Most of the week, there’s no car parking spaces,” he said. “The whole place is going to get jammed up.”
More developments are expected to be approved here (Photo: Alexa Phillips)Gavin Taylor, who works in the City and lives in a home by the site, wants to see brownfield sites built on instead.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Shadow Housing Secretary, said the Government must prioritise building on brownfield land in urban areas.
square NEWS Big ReadThe derelict factory that reveals a major flaw in Starmer’s housing plan
Read More
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said it was taking action to deliver 1.5 million homes to address a housing crisis.
“Our reforms will protect our natural landscapes and deliver the homes and infrastructure we need at the same time, so we can restore the dream of homeownership to families across the country.”
A Basildon Council spokesperson said the developments will meet the borough’s current housing needs, act as a long-term investment in its growth and sustainability, and enhance communities with vital amenities and infrastructure.
They said each planning decision undergoes “rigorous assessments” to ensure it aligns with national and local policies. In 2025, the council will give protective status to every green space that is not allocated in the local plan.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Essex town where farmland is being labelled ‘grey belt’ despite Labour promises )
Also on site :