{"id":773312,"date":"2025-02-05T09:22:33","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T09:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=773312"},"modified":"2025-02-05T09:22:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T09:22:33","slug":"grey-belt-housing-plans-incoherent-says-lords-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/grey-belt-housing-plans-incoherent-says-lords-committee","title":{"rendered":"Grey-belt housing plans \u2018incoherent\u2019, says Lords committee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made in December<\/a>, councils will be asked to prioritise house building on previously developed plots \u2013 otherwise known as grey-belt land.<\/p>\n

However, the policy will have a \u2018marginal, at best\u2019 impact on the government\u2019s target of 1.5 million homes by 2030, House of Lords Built Environment Committee chair Daniel Moylan said in a 36-page letter sent to housing secretary Angela Rayner yesterday (4 February).<\/p>\n

Moylan argued that the NPPF revisions made in December were \u2018rushed\u2019 and \u2018incoherent\u2019 and that the grey belt policy would be largely redundant\u00a0because of other proposed planning reforms.<\/p>\n

The committee said it expected councils and developers to instead use existing mechanisms to build more homes on the green belt, which was likely to be redrawn to meet housing targets.<\/p>\n

Moylan said: \u2018The government\u2019s policy has been implemented in a somewhat rushed and incoherent manner. The committee does not believe that it is likely to have any significant or lasting impact on planning decision-making or helping the government achieve its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government said that the grey belt policy was \u2018just one of the ambitious housing reforms\u2019 set out by the government, which had \u2018inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory\u2019.<\/p>\n

They continued: \u2018[We] are taking decisive action to deliver 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change, including overhauling the broken planning system\u2026 Our green belt reforms are informed through widespread consultation and will unlock more land for the homes and infrastructure communities desperately need, delivering sustainable, affordable and well-designed developments on low-quality grey belt.\u2019<\/p>\n

And Fergus Charlton, planning partner at national law firm Michelmores LLP, said the grey belt policy was already playing a key role in planning.<\/p>\n

He argued: \u2018Whether or not the grey belt policies will play an effective role in achieving the government\u2019s difficult-to-reach 1.5 million new homes target will become clearer as the policies begin to play a defining role in plan making.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the realm of decision taking, they are already playing a key role in the outcome of appeals where green-belt land is considered by inspectors to be grey belt. We have seen more than a handful of successful appeals in the eight weeks since the grey belt concept was confirmed in the NPPF.\u2019<\/p>\n

Architects have so far welcomed the government\u2019s planning and house-building reforms. Speaking to the AJ, RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said the planning reforms announced in December were \u2018a promising path forward\u2019.<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018Significant moves to review the use of the green belt and define the meaning of grey-belt land, while prioritising brownfield development, also signal a willingness to tackle some of the most pressing barriers to large-scale development.\u2019<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s Planning and Infrastructure bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament in March when further plans to fast-track major housebuilding and infrastructure projects will be set out.<\/p>\n

However, doubts have been raised over the 1.5 million homes target, with Rayner telling a select committee last month that house-building targets would have to be \u2018ramped up\u2019 towards the end of Labour\u2019s five-year term in order to reach that goal, as AJ sister title Local Government Chronicle<\/em><\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Estimates on how many homes could be unlocked by grey-belt development range between 50,000 and 4 million.<\/p>\n

\n

At a glance: National Planning Policy Framework changes<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Councils have been given immediate mandatory housing targets, adding up to 370,000 units per year<\/li>\n
  • Areas with the lowest levels of affordability and greatest potential for growth will see house-building targets increase the most<\/li>\n
  • Councils must review their green belt boundaries and identify lower-quality grey-belt land for development<\/li>\n
  • Any development on the green belt must meet strict requirements, with rules requiring developers to provide infrastructure for local communities<\/li>\n
  • Councils and developers will need to give greater consideration to social rent when building new homes<\/li>\n
  • The government said it supported \u2018builders, not blockers\u2019 and would \u2018deliver for working people\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Under amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made in December, councils will be asked to prioritise house building on previously developed plots \u2013 otherwise known as grey-belt land. However, the policy will have a \u2018marginal, at best\u2019 impact on the government\u2019s target of 1.5 million homes by 2030, House of Lords Built Environment …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131789,"featured_media":773314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[1688,101015,2508,3925],"yoast_head":"\nGrey-belt housing plans \u2018incoherent\u2019, says Lords committee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Lords inquiry into the government\u2019s grey belt plans has described the proposals as \u2018incoherent\u2019, saying they will make almost no difference to the 1.5 million new homes target\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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