Much has already been written over the past week about emerging Government policy in the new NPPF and confirmed in the Written Ministerial Statement. The strong direction of travel in terms of the  step change to housing delivery, economic growth and recognition of the importance of energy infrastructure to securing these, brings extremely exciting opportunities for all of us working in the planning and development industry.

The proposed changes to the green belt are long overdue – there can’t be many post-war policies that are still fit for purpose! Yet it’s been seen as pretty much sacrosanct in planning terms which is illogical as much of it is (obviously due to its purpose) in sustainable locations and parts of it are either previously developed or of poor environmental quality.

The proposed ‘grey belt’ represents a huge opportunity to meet the new higher housing targets and economic growth within 5 priority sectors. The government has set out their proposed definition of grey belt in the NPPF consultation. As well as previously developed land, the definition includes parcels or areas that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes (as defined in para 140 of the emerging Framework).There is considerable scope to identify land that has potential as grey belt.

At our team includes planners with a range of skills in strategic planning gained in the  housebuilding and energy industry, planning consultancy and local government plan making.We’ve been doing some research on how to identify grey belt land using our extensive planning experience and knowledge. There are a number of tools and evidence available and we are well placed to advise you on your next steps in terms of where and how to look. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.