‘Urgent’ action needed to protect green belt land

Campaigners have called for “urgent” action to safeguard the countryside, after figures showed that planned building on green belt land is up 84% in a year.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said on Friday that it was seriously concerned at the amount of land potentially under threat.

Evidence collated by CPRE showed that there were some 150,464 homes planned to be built on green belt land. This figure was 81,000 in August 2012.

CPRE has long campaigned for the green belt to be protected, and speaking to Blue & Green Tomorrow, one of its senior planners Paul Miner said, “We’ve done this in the past by putting pressure on the house building industry to use brownfield sites.”

According to CPRE, Brownfield sites, places which have seen previous development of homes or commercial property, play a key role in protecting the countryside.

The group calls upon the government to safeguard green belt land by encouraging the utilisation of brownfield sites and introducing measures that would ensure local authorities have the correct tools to work together to direct efforts to regeneration and re-development.

Miner added in a statement, “Green Belts prevent urban sprawl and are the green lungs of many of our largest or most historic towns and cities. Ministers now need to go further. Hard decisions are needed to help ensure both urban regeneration and protection of the green belt.”

Further reading:

Government proposals ‘seriously undermine and damage’  green homes plans

Government risk ‘losing momentum’ on sustainable homes

Study paints UK as a leader in green building