The revision to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made on 12th December 2024, which was followed by minor changes on 7th February 2025, introduced flexibility in the way proposals for new developments are viewed in the Green Belt.
It is important to note that Grey Belt is land within the Green Belt and, in our view, this new category opens up opportunities for development where previous restrictive policies would have considered it ‘inappropriate’.
Notwithstanding this relaxation in Green Belt policy, there remained uncertainty as to how to implement the new concept. On 27th February 2025, the Government published the much awaited Green Belt Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), and below, we look at some of the key points it clarifies:
Villages do not count/relate to the following:
“large built-up areas” for Green Belt assessment purposes
preventing coalescence of towns
the purpose of preserving the setting and special character of historic towns
Where Grey Belt land is identified, you should not assume that it will then be allocated for development, released from the Green Belt or for development proposals to be approved in all circumstances. The contribution Green Belt land makes to Green Belt purposes is one consideration in making decisions about proposed developments. Such decisions should also be informed by an overall application of the relevant policies in the NPPF.
An assessment of Green Belt will (alongside other considerations) inform the determination of applications which involve reaching a judgement as to whether proposals utilise Grey Belt land and whether development of the site would fundamentally undermine the purposes of the remaining Green Belt across the plan area.
Where Grey Belt sites are not identified in existing plans, Green Belt assessments decision makers should consider evidence on whether the site strongly contributes to the three Green Belt purposes of a) checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, b) preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another, and/or c) preserving the setting and special character of historic towns.
Whether the application of policies to areas and assets of particular importance identified in the NPPF provide a strong reason to restrict development, and whether development of the site would fundamentally undermine the purposes of the remaining Green Belt across the plan area, as set out in national policy and this guidance.
Where a site is judged to comprise Grey Belt land, and to not fundamentally undermine the purposes of the remaining Green Belt across the plan area if released or developed, wider considerations will still be relevant to the consideration of development proposals on the site. These would include determining whether the development would not be inappropriate in the Green Belt. That question would include consideration of whether there is a demonstrable unmet need for the type of development proposed. In the case of housing development, this could refer to the Council’s five-year supply of land for housing development.
Please contact me for more ideas on how you can take advantage of this recent relaxation of planning restrictions in the Green Belt.
