Call for Evidence

Overview

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has launched a short inquiry into the Grey Belt in England.

The committee invites interested individuals and organisations to submit written evidence by 21 October 2024. The committee intends to hold oral evidence sessions in October and November and will write to Ministers with its conclusions and recommendations early in 2025.

Background

The new Government has set itself a target of building 1.5 million homes in five years and developers have warned that meeting increasing housing demand will not be achieved by only building on brownfield sites. As part of its plans to achieve these aims, the Government has proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and is consulting on a process for releasing Green Belt land. This includes creating a new designation of “Grey Belt” land: “land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt land that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes.”

This short inquiry will seek to gain a better understanding of what Grey Belt land is, how it can contribute to housing targets and what sustainable Grey Belt development looks like. This inquiry will consider how the Government and local authorities might identify Grey Belt areas thought suitable for development and how to ensure new homes are facilitated by the necessary infrastructure and local amenities.

As part of its work, the committee will consider the Government’s proposed “golden rules” for affordable housing provision, infrastructure and enhanced green spaces and how they may affect the success of developments in the Grey Belt. The “golden rules” also set out a sequential test for development: brownfield sites should be developed first, followed by previously developed Grey Belt land, other types of Grey Belt Land, and finally “higher performing” Green Belt land.

Planning is a devolved area of policy and this inquiry will focus on England. The committee is interested to learn from other UK and international examples.

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

Written evidence should be submitted online using the written submission form available at https://committees.parliament.uk/submission/#/evidence/3439/preamble. This page also provides guidance on submitting evidence. 

If you have difficulty submitting evidence online, please contact the Committee staff by email to builtenvironment@parliament.uk or by telephoning 020 7219 3616. The deadline for written evidence is 21 October 2024.

Questions

The committee seeks evidence in response to the following questions. It is not necessary to answer all the questions. Short submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary.

1)    What is your assessment of the Government’s definition of “Grey Belt”?

a) What is your understanding of what makes a “limited contribution” to achieving the purposes of the Green Belt?

2)    Do you think the Government’s Grey Belt proposals will contribute to delivering new homes across the country and, if so, how quickly?

a) How many new homes could be built on Grey Belt land?

b) Will the creation of a new Grey Belt category be a better way to deliver new homes in the Green Belt than the existing processes for redesignating Green Belt land?

3)    Do the current proposals for identifying Grey Belt land provide local planning authorities with sufficient scope to meet their housing targets and the needs of local communities?

a) Are there any strategic considerations concerning the designation and development of Grey Belt land that may require an unusual degree of collaboration between neighbouring local authorities and, if so, what are they and how is that collaboration to be achieved?

4)    Do you think the proposed sequential test for allocating land in the Green Belt for development will provide sufficient protection for “high quality” Green Belt land whilst still ensuring sufficient land is released for new housing? [1]

a) The current NPPF designates specific categories of land as “areas of particular importance” which cannot be developed and would be excluded from being considered Grey Belt land. Should the Government review which areas receive this designation?

5)    What infrastructure and local amenities are necessary to ensure that a Grey Belt housing development is a good place to live?

a) Should the identification of Grey Belt land be influenced by the proximity of public transport amenities or other services, or is this better handled through individual planning applications?

b) How can identified Grey Belt sites be connected with social infrastructure such as schools and health facilities?

6)    The Government has pointed to disused petrol stations and car parks as instances of Grey Belt land. Are any additional special measures needed to support the potential decontamination of Grey Belt land, beyond those that are currently available?

7)    The government has proposed a 50 per cent affordable housing target on Grey Belt sites. Is the current approach to viability assessments and s106 agreements able to deliver this?

8)    In order to facilitate Grey Belt development, what flexibility in the process could be introduced without compromising the Government’s overall housebuilding objectives?

[1] As in the current NPPF, the revised NPPF proposes protecting sites of particular importance from development. These are:

a) habitats and/or designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest

b) Local Green Spaces

c) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

d) National Parks (or within the Broads Authority) or areas defined as Heritage Coast

e) irreplaceable habitats

f) designated heritage assets (and other heritage assets of archaeological interest

g) areas at risk of flooding or coastal change.