A grey area: Understanding the grey belt

The upcoming launch of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation has created much anticipation from the built environment sector as disciplined professionals await the latest information on the ‘grey belt’ and how this will affect the protection and fought for land of the green belt. Rhian Thomas, Principal Planner, Chris Lyons, Residential Lead UK and Jon Salter, European Geospatial Lead at SLR, have examined what this means for current green belt land in the South of England.

Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement of a 1.5 million new homes target, there has been considerable speculation about the feasibility of this goal. Labour’s commitment to overhauling the planning system and addressing housing needs remains a focal point of their manifesto.

Part of this agenda is an expectation that brownfield sites and poor-quality areas in the green belt – known as the ‘grey belt’ – will be prioritised for development. A crucial aspect that needs clarification is the definition of the ‘grey’ belt and how it differs from the ‘green’ belt. Understanding this distinction will enable developers and local authorities to assess land options and determine the appropriateness of otherwise removing and categorising land from green belt to grey belt. Grey belt is a term that has produced much uncertainty around the future of the green belt, while not explaining in full the complexities or purpose of the historic green belt and how this has caused a significant delay in providing much needed homes for people in local areas.

The number of homes that can be built on grey belt land hinges on its official definition. Previous research by Create Streets indicates that approximately 3 per cent of land currently classified as green belt, could be suitable for development under this new grey belt designation [1]. This alone could meet the dedicated 1.5 million homes needed to tackle the housing crisis. SLR has undertaken a research piece to map significant areas of land in the south of England using open-source data to identify what the grey belt could look like in the future to identify potential sites for development in Surrey. The research deploys spatial analysis on data sources including, Ordnance Survey, Natural England, and the Environment Agency to identify Previously Developed Land (PDL) as defined by the NPPF. This analysis is then refined to incorporate additional data including land that contains Points of Interest, such as car parks and petrol stations, removal of any areas within Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land and accessibility to public transport.

Whilst definitions need to be clarified and the purposes of land reclassified, our new approach and interactive web application demonstrates significant land opportunities for development. It is clear to those in the built environment sector that now is the time to be proactively assessing suitable options which potentially meet any grey belt land definition.

As these contentious issues come to the forefront over the next few days with the anticipated release of new NPPF guidance on the matter, many will consider whether this newly defined phenomenon will truly help meet the housing crisis. Speculation over Labour’s manifesto will increase over weeks and months as local people and local authorities grapple with what this will now mean for their town, village, and neighbourhood as the possibility of expansion looms in the distance. It is the responsibility of cross-disciplinary professionals in the built environment sector to bridge the gap with knowledge and resource to mitigate and reassure that this reclassification is not simply urban sprawl, but about providing much needed affordable housing and places for people to call home, on suitable land.

Using land which currently doesn’t serve public purpose will enable developments to not only deliver housing, but a range of blue and green integrated infrastructure with publicly accessible high-quality spaces. Creating a sense of place with the addition of these elements will help position proposals positively in the public consciousness. As land gets released, it is essential that developers consider a holistic approach to masterplanning, as providing amenity-rich environments will be crucial in obtaining community support towards a development. This is a significant change to take place after 70+ years of an outdated and underutilised land supply due to restrictive legislation.

Our interactive web application is a visual aid to demonstrate what land might be considered in this period of review, using the NPPF definition for PDL in comparison to a potential future definition of grey belt, helping developers and residents to visualise pockets of land that may now be suitable in local areas. The web application enables the user to click on the vertical scroll bar and drag it left and right to compare potential sites for development under the different potential definitions. It also has embedded ‘on-the-fly’ analytics to demonstrate potential sites and the user can filter and zoom to different district boroughs for a more detailed overview.

It is crucial to understand that a review of the green belt will see areas of land redefined by quality and accessibility. This means that areas worthy of protection are not included whilst areas such as car parks, golf courses, landfill, ex mineral/worked sites, and lower value land is repurposed in such a way that increases access to retained spaces, sensitive to the local context, and providing much needed homes.

This policy change in the NPPF will not dampen the spirit of nimbyism but can change the tide of decisions which have previously been met with resistance, despite an acceptance of a housing crisis. It’s success however is all in the implementation and outcomes. While development is inevitable under this newly appointed government, it is important to distinguish in this period of change that not all accounted for green belt is truly green. Releasing suitable green belt land for housing development could unlock opportunities for sustainable, well-planned communities. Quite how the government intend this change to happen is not yet clear, and we look forward to understanding the mechanisms by which local planning authorities will review grey belt development, given current requirements around ‘very special circumstances’ and openness. This moment in history is about advocating for a national level of policy change which enables a greater degree of flexibility based on clear definitions and supporting legislation.

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References

[1] https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1881123/labour-find-its-promised-grey-belt-sites-new-housing#:~:text=An%20analysis%20by%20housing%20lobby,realise%20around%201.5%20million%20homes.