The Landscape
Institute (LI) has published a new briefing on the future of the Green Belt.
The briefing seeks
to address the housing crisis, lead debate on the UK government’s 25-year
environment plan, and inform
revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
It calls for fresh
thinking on Green Belt policy that:
- addresses pressing issues
such as flood risk, air pollution, and health and wellbeing
- considers societal need for
climate change mitigation, biodiversity enhancement and sustainable
expansion
- is clear on what Green Belt
is, and what it is for
Green Belt policy
predates the NPPF ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’.
"As a
single-issue designation," the briefing argues, "Green Belt does not
sit well with current evidence-based policy-making."
The LI advocates a
strategic review of Green Belt policies and guidance. It urges the UK
Government to use the proposed revision to NPPF to align Green Belt policy with
current planning guidance.
It also calls on the
Welsh Government and Scottish Parliament to undertake a strategic review of
Green Belt policies and guidance:
- as part of the proposed
revisions to Planning Policy for Wales; and
- as part of the review of
Scottish Planning Policy and National Planning Framework
While successful in
its original aim to keep land around urban areas permanently open, Green Belt
requires ongoing re-evaluation to ensure its continued relevance.
"The public
deserve a system for protecting the Green Belt that they can trust,", said
LI President Merrick Denton-Thompson. "We all want beautiful, functional
green land around our towns and cities. A review that firmly reestablishes Green
Belt principles might allow new development in some areas. But it equally could
mean new Green Belts in places that don’t have them."
LI Policy Committee
Chair Kate Bailey said open land is a finite and irreplaceable asset in the UK.
"The Landscape Institute urges people to move away from the idea that
Green Belt is good simply because it is there," she added.
"Green Belt
policy has been very effective in many locations over many years… but if
re-defined as natural capital, green infrastructure or strategic open space,
its transformation and enrichment could deliver far greater benefit."
