What is the ‘grey belt’ and can homes be built on it?

After 14 years of Conservative government there is a new political party in power. One of the most emotive issues during campaigning for the recent election was whether a new government was going to do anything about the housing market. Labour seemed to be keeping its cards close to its chest as to how they were going to fulfil their manifesto.

Well, now there has been some detail. In order to meet the target of 1.5 million new homes over five years they are going to build on ‘green belt’ land.  Not on all green belt land, but “poor quality and ugly areas” of the green belt – land that is to be redefined as ‘grey belt’ land.

The green belt was established more than 70 years ago and it covers about 13% of England. Its original aim was to limit the growth of large, built-up areas and to stop towns merging into one another.

Aside from Labour’s previous description of grey belt as “poor quality and ugly areas” within the green belt – including disused car parks and wasteland – there is little more to go on at present and arguably a need for a clearer, fuller definition. Under the current rules it is very hard to build on the green belt and applicants need to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify planning permission. At this stage it is unclear just how much grey belt land is potentially out there and whether it will be sufficient to facilitate Labour’s housing targets. The revised National Planning Policy Framework that is expected in the autumn will hopefully provide a formal definition of grey belt and a greater understanding of how it will work.

Green belt development is controversial, but as our population increases we are likely to see a growing shift in attitudes towards building on some green belt land as a solution to the current housing shortage. The devil is in the detail. Let’s hope this doesn’t create a ‘grey area’ for housebuilding going forward.

Further information:

What is the 'grey belt' and how many homes could Labour build? - BBC News

What is the "grey belt"? - Strategic Land Group