Countryside campaigners, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] have today (Friday) expressed shock at proposals to delete major areas of the Nottingham Green Belt to accommodate further housing development and to abandon a road traffic reduction target for the region.

The independent panel [2] which examined the East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (the Draft Plan) [3] have called for the land to the north, east and south of Nottingham to lose its Green Belt status, and a future Green Belt to be concentrated solely to the west of Nottingham to prevent coalescence with Derby. This proposal is a direct challenge to Government assurances that the overall level of Green Belt should be maintained or increased in each region. [4]

The panel has also rejected the road traffic reduction target because it is argued that it would be too ambitious for the level of development proposed. [5]

CPRE expressed dismay that the Panel have ignored their own recommendations to tackle climate change and traffic reduction urgently. ‘If we can’t have more development and less traffic, let’s have less development,’ said Bettina Lange, CPRE’s Regional Policy Officer for the East Midlands.

‘The Green Belt is Nottingham’s green lung and provides much-needed open space and tranquillity for residents as well as valuable agricultural land and wildlife habitat. The value of Green Belts lie in their permanence, and the boundaries should not be constantly redrawn each time there are development pressures,’ Bettina Lange concluded.

The Panel’s Report [6] also calls for overall housing provision in the East Midlands to rise from 20,418 per year in the Draft Plan to 21,757. This will mean over 435,000 new homes within the next 20 years, a figure CPRE considers unsustainable. Apart from the implications for the Green Belt, such inflated levels of housebuilding will require large areas of greenfield land to be bulldozed and put added pressure on already stretched infrastructure, including roads, sewerage and water supply. The long term implications for the countryside, the environment, the Green Belt and for urban regeneration in the region could be irreversible.

– END –

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. We promote positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside to ensure change values its natural and built environment. Our Patron is Her Majesty The Queen. We have 60,000 supporters, a branch in every county, nine regional groups, over 200 local groups and a national office in London. CPRE is a powerful combination of effective local action and strong national campaigning. Our President is Bill Bryson.

2. The independent panel, which comprised Professor Stephen Crow (Chair); and Mr John Mattocks (Inspector), conducted the Examination in Public on the draft Regional Plan between 22 May – 19 July 2007, in Leicester and Lincoln. This comprised roundtable discussions with invited participants on 30 selected matters (plus a plenary session). CPRE East Midlands participated in 26 of the matter discussions.

3. The draft East Midlands Plan (or Regional Spatial Strategy) was issued by the East Midlands Regional Assembly in December 2006. This plan covers Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland and sets housing numbers for the region up to the year 2026. The final version will be published by the Government in autumn 2008 following a further consultation on proposed changes.

4. John Prescott MP’s statement to the House of Commons on the Communities Plan, 5 February 2003.

5. The Draft Plan proposed a zero traffic growth target across the region by the end of the Plan Period. The Panel suggests that this target should be revised or abandoned, and has recommended that a comprehensive reappraisal of the regional transport strategy should be undertaken.

6. The Panel’s Report was published on 28 November and can be downloaded from the Government Office for the East Midlands website: Panel Report on the draft East Midlands Plan.