What is the solution?
Green Belts, with their public rights of way, give people access to the countryside. Photo: Campaign Against Stevenage Expansion
The openness of Green Belt land needs to be cherished and protected permamently. That way, Green Belts will protect our countryside and help regenerate our cities — and they will be able to do even more for us. With confidence in their permanence, we can work to make Green Belts play an even greater role in improving our quality of life.
Being inflexible is a good thing
What makes Green Belts effective is confidence in their permanence. Their location is more important than simply how much Green Belt there is. If boundaries are shifted, this encourages developers to believe that they have only to wait for further boundary changes to let them develop former Green Belt land. This removes the incentive to make better use of urban land through regeneration of derelict sites. The long-term security of Green Belt land is also needed to encourage long-term improvements, such as the creation and maintenance of country parks or community forests.
We need to help Green Belts to reach their potential
For Green Belts to fulfil their potential, we must stand firm to protect them from inappropriate development. We must show our support for the Green Belt and resist proposals that ultimately damage the countryside and undermine the true purpose of Green Belts.
Government deeds need to match words
Minister's repeated affirmations of their commitment to Green Belt policy are very welcome but Government actions are not always consistent. There needs to be an end to Government actions which undermine Green Belt policy.
Controls need to be enforced
There needs to be a serious effort to crack down on abuses of planning controls in the countryside, including Green Belt land. Many local authorities are already doing much to tackle the despoiling of Green Belt by speculative landbankers, by serving ‘Article 4 Directions’ that prevent these activities. Currently they need approval from Government to use these powers. Chiltern Borough Council had to get approval on 29 separate occasions in recent years. We think this is completely unnecessary and have called on the Government to change the law so that they can serve these directions against landbankers without Government approval.
Co-ordinated action to bring a halt to the balkanisation of England’s landscape by landbankers is needed between Communities and Local Government (the department responsible for planning) and agencies responsible for company law and consumer protection (such as the Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading).
Nor do we have to accept the argument that the only way to tidy up Green Belt land is to build on it. Local authorities have special planning powers (‘Section 215 Notices’) that can force landowners to clean up land that is untidy because of things that are not counted as ‘development’, such as abandoned vehicles or rubbish.
> CPRE Planning Help: How to use an untidy land notice
