Loosening the Belt: What is Grey Belt Land and Green Belt Land?

‘Grey belt land’ is a new term coined by the Labour Party; it is defined as a new category of green belt land regarded as “poor quality” and “ugly.”

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party says they will seek to adopt a more strategic approach to ease the current housing crisis by proposing the release of poorer-quality green belt land, such as wastelands and former car parks, to facilitate the development of more homes.

Green belt land is a belt of open green space that usually surrounds cities and towns and is protected from certain forms of development. Land is designated as ‘green belt’ by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) by powers delegated to them by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947.

As of March 2023, 12.6% of England’s land area was designated as Green Belt Land.

The government’s planning policies are contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which provides a framework for LPAs to determine their local plans. LPAs should consider the NPPF when determining planning applications for development and regard it as a ‘material consideration’ in their decisions.

The underlying and fundamental purpose of designating certain land as ‘green belt’ is to inhibit ‘urban sprawl’.

Urban sprawl occurs when cities and large towns develop into and encroach upon surrounding treasured countryside, which results in vital green space becoming diminished and degraded.

However, the NPPF outlines that green belt land has, in total, five main purposes:

• As a check on the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas.
• To avoid neighbouring towns from combining.
• To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.
• To preserve historic towns, particularly their setting and special character.
• To assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

Where land is designated as green belt, planning permission for development is harder to obtain.

The LPAs and current government guidance determine planning applications on green belt land outlines that development on the green belt is inappropriate and should only be permitted in “very special circumstances”.

In 2022, 6.8% of green belt land had been developed, with roads and other transport infrastructure accounting for over half of this figure.

In 2022, only 0.3% of all green belt land was used for residential buildings.

However, under a new government, we may see an increase in this use in the future. Labour has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

Whilst Labour suggests that brownfield sites should still be approached first for housing development opportunities, loosening green belt protections and the constraints imposed on development could facilitate greater housing delivery and may assist in resolving the current housing crisis.

Accordingly, green belt land may become more desirable to developers wishing to seize the opportunity to develop affordable housing on ‘grey belt’ land.

Critics of the proposal point out that it could potentially encourage landowners to neglect undeveloped land in the hope that it will later become designated a grey belt.

This could then mean the land is more likely to be granted planning permission for development that would otherwise not have been possible.

The proposals have generally been met with a tentative welcome, with most acknowledging that something needs to be done to address the growing housing shortage crisis.

It remains to be seen how the proposals will translate into concrete (no pun intended) policy change under a future Labour Government.

Myerson’s specialist solicitors are experienced in dealing with developments of all types of land across the country.

We act for both landowners and developers and work with them to ensure that their interests are fully protected throughout the life cycle of a development project.

Our property development lawyers understand all areas of development projects, including collaboration and promotion agreements, site acquisition and land assembly, planning agreements, development agreements, joint ventures and more.

Statistics from Green Belt - House of Commons Library.