I have a Grey Belt in House Building
I don’t know about you, but I am terribly excited about the new NPPF. We had a good idea that was going to be in it but even I was somewhat surprised by just how far it went. And the bit that REALLY got me was the Grey Belt.
The new NPPF will instruct councils to review plans to consider Grey Belt sites where necessary, and says these sites are options where applications can be made if Local Plans are out of date or the Council has a record of poor delivery numbers (a long list that is!).
It is however caveated saying that local planning authorities should focus first on brownfield sites in the green belt, with the draft policy suggesting councils then look to Grey Belt sites if not enough brownfield land can be found.
Now I can hear you ask, but what is Grey Belt? Well, Grey Belt land is defined in the new (draft) NPPF as being either previously developed, or land that “make a limited contribution” to the five green belt purposes, as laid out in the new NPPF. The five green belt purposes are designed to keep land permanently open by: checking urban sprawl; stopping towns merging; preventing countryside encroachment; preserving the setting of historic settlements; and assisting urban regeneration. This will include “land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.”
The new NPPF made it clear that planning applications on Grey Belt sites should not be considered inappropriate where it meets the ‘golden rules’, is in a “sustainable location’ and “would not fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan as a whole”. Planning applications should not be considered inappropriate if the local authority can’t demonstrate a five-year supply of land or has failed the housing delivery test, or where “there is a demonstrable need for land to be released for development of local, regional or national importance”.
The new NPPF said that councils with draft plans at regulation 19 consultation or beyond - would not be required to conduct Green Belt reviews to find additional land for housing, as long as there was not a gap of more than 200 homes per year between the proposed housing requirement and new standard method calculation of housing need.
However, if plans were less advanced Councils would have to start again with a new Local Plan, with a timeframe of submitting plans no more than 18 months after publication of the new NPPF. BOOM! Take that!
This is a Government that means business on Housing. Every statement on this is signed off by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State. This really is coming right from the top.
So, let’s all go out and get a Grey Belt in house building people! We have waited for this for a very, very long time to get any sensible direction and at last it is here!
Until next week,
Henry